The Courage To Dream Again
by guitarkid
Summary: Santana and Brittany spent 14 years apart. Santana had a son after graduating from William McKinley High School and Brittany married Sam Evans and had a daughter. Now, 17 years later, they're getting married and starting a whole new life together.
1. Until Death Do Us Part

Santana woke up early one Saturday morning, she turns over and she sees her sleeping 17 year old son, Zachary. She spooned her son from behind when he started to stir. They were lying on a mattress on the ground, in their old apartment.

"Morning Mijo."

"Morning Mom."

"Sleep well?"

"Sorta."

"You ready for today?"

"I guess. Are you?"

"More than you'll ever know."

"Well, I guess it's good that you're not having cold feet."

Santana chuckled, "She makes me happy."

"Good."

"Are you okay with Brittany being around full time?"

"Of course."

"Are you sure?"

"Mom," Zachary turned over and put his hands on each side of his mom's face, "you just said she makes you happy, so what other people think shouldn't matter."

"But you'll be living with her for the next three years."

"She's cool. Don't worry about me, okay? I'm fine."

"I love you, Mijo."

"I love you too, Mom."

* * *

Brittany was lying in bed at the home she bought with Santana. It was their wedding day. It wasn't the way she wanted to wake up, but they wanted to keep not seeing each other until they met at the alter sacred. Brittany looked at her cell phone for the time. It was 7:45am, technically she could sleep for another half hour, but she knew she couldn't force herself to go back asleep. She got up and walked out of her room to find her 15 year old daughter, Riley, already up drinking a cup of coffee.

"Morning Baby Girl."

Riley looked up from her cup of coffee and said, "Morning Mom."

Brittany kissed her daughter's cheek, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She lied, Brittany rose an eyebrow. "Okay, okay. It's just, it's reality now."

"What is, babe?"

"You and Daddy aren't getting back together."

Brittany took a deep breath, "Things between us didn't work out. Trust me, we tried."

"I know, I mean he's still in my life. You two act like the best of friends."

"For your sake." Brittany offered her daughter a small smile.

"I just don't get it."

"Get what, babe?"

"If you and Santana loved each other in high school, why didn't you guys stay together?"

"Matthew Taylor." Brittany mumbled into a coffee mug.

"What?"

"Zach's dad and your dad too. They were always so overly protective. We could never show each other how much we truly loved each other until a few years ago."

"Well, are you happy?"

"Of course."

"Then I should just shut up."

"I love you, you know that, right?"

"Of course." Riley muttered. Brittany hugged her daughter from behind. "I love you too," the teenager said barely above a whisper.

* * *

Santana stood in front of the mirror, readjusting her tie for the millionth time.

"I don't get why you're wearing a tie, Mom." Zach said not looking up from his phone. "It's just as much as your wedding day as it is Brittany's."

"I just am pretty self-conscious, okay?"

"About wearing a dress?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"I'm not as pretty or beautiful as Brittany."

Zach stood up and helped his mom with her tie, "You know that's a load of bull, right? Brittany would say the same thing if she were here."

"I just don't feel as pretty or beautiful as Brittany, okay?" Santana started to tense up.

"Okay, relax." Zach replayed what Brittany said after the rehearsal dinner in his head.

"_Make sure, she's relaxed and doesn't stress out too much."_

Santana sat down and looked at her watch, "We have to go out for pictures in 15 minutes."

"Okay." Just then Zach felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. It was a text from Riley.

_Riley Evans:_

_My mom wants to speak to you. Come in our dressing room, please?"_

_Sent: Saturday, September 15__th__, 12:07pm._

Zach slipped his phone back into his pocket and said, "I'll be back Mom, apparently Brittany needs to talk to me." He then looked at Puck who was standing in the room, "Uncle Puck, make sure she doesn't do anything stupid while I'm gone, you hear?"

"For sure, Neph!"

Zach walks to where Riley and Brittany are and knocks on the door. Quinn answers it.

"Riley sent me a text saying that Brittany wanted to talk to me."

"Oh okay."

Zach walks in and Brittany's eyes immediately met her very soon-to-be stepson's eyes.

"W- wow. Britt. You look so beautiful."

"Thank you."

"So, what's up?" At this point everyone in the room made it to the balcony outside overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

"You're okay with this, right?"

"With what? You and my mom getting married? Of course."

"You're not lying, are you?"

"Brittany, you make my mom happy. In 17 years, I haven't seen her light up as much as she does when you walk into the room. Yeah, it isn't the most ideal situation, moving across town in my senior year, but Britt, all I've ever wanted was for my mom to be legitimately happy. And with you she is."

She embraced him in a hug and he wrapped his arms around her, "Thanks Zach."

"You bet. Just promise me something."

"Okay?"

"To never make her feel like a failure or less of herself."

"Absolutely."

He smiled at his very soon-to-be stepmom and then stepped out of the room. He walked back to where his mom was and when he got to the door, he heard her yelling in Spanish at someone. He stepped into the room and said, "Woah, woah, woah! What's going on?"

His mom was sitting there almost in a ball, "The band is not here yet and they were supposed to be here like thirty minutes ago." Puck whispers.

"Okay." Zach took a deep breath and walked over to his mom, "Mom, the band just showed up and are setting up. Don't worry. Okay. Relax." He had sat his mother up and was rubbing her shoulders. "We now have to go out and take pictures, can you pull yourself together?" Santana nods. "Okay good. You have five minutes."

* * *

Santana took a deep breath standing at the alter. She looked back to see her son and Puck looking at her smiling. Then Brittany walked in, everyone was staring at her, Santana was in awe of how beautiful she was. When Brittany reached the alter, Santana took her hand.

"You look so beautiful." The brunette whispered to her favorite blonde. Brittany smiled.

The ceremony to Santana was a blur until it was time for them to say their vows.

"The couple has agreed in doing their own vows." The minister said, "Brittany, why don't you go first?"

"Okay." Brittany took a deep breath, "Santana, I love you. I love everything about you. I love that I basically have to push you out of bed in the morning. I love the little things about you. The things that you may never know you do, I love. And I'm honored that you've let your walls fall down for me, that you want to spend the rest of my life with me. I promise to love you with everything I have, everything I am. I promise to wake up by your side every morning. To walk with you for the rest of my life, until death do us part." The blonde wiped the tears coming down the brunette's face.

"And you Santana."

"Uhhm. I don't even know where to begin. Brittany, 14 years without you was _tough _to say the least. But, when those beautiful blue eyes locked with mine again, in that coffee shop, I knew that I didn't want to lose you again. I love you. I promise to continue being vulnerable with you. Continue loving you. Continue protecting you. To never leave your side, until death do us part.

* * *

The ceremony was over and the reception was in full swing. Zach and Riley were about to give their speeches.

"Can we get everyone's attention please?" Riley said.

"Yo. Up here. The only two standing with microphones." Zach said getting everyone's attention.

"We're going to do the toast now." Riley said.

"You first, sis." Zach said with a wink.

"Okay, so hi, I'm Riley Evans. I'm Brittany's daughter. And I'd be lying if I told you when I first met Santana, I actually liked her and her son. Because in fact, I didn't like them. I just wanted my folks back together. But, shortly after I got to know both Santana and Zach. The feeling of hatred started to fade. Yeah, I still wish my folks were back together, but I see how happy Santana makes my mom." Riley then turned to the couple and said, "You showed me what it was like for my mom to be happy. You showed me what it was like to dream again. Begin again. Live again. So I guess, welcome to the family." Riley offers Santana a small smile. The couple then got up to hug Riley as she sat down next to Brittany.

Zach cleared his throat before speaking. "So, um, hi, I'm Zachary Lopez. I'm Santana's son. The awkward moment when you come home to your mom making out with your AP English teacher is exactly how you describe walking into our apartment on an afternoon a few years ago. I was, at the time, livid, but now it's the complete opposite. Because in 17 years, I've never seen my mom light up like she does when Brittany walks into the room." He turns to the couple and continues, "And I never understood why, but I love the way that you two work together. Now, I couldn't care less that you just married my AP English teacher. Because like Riley said about you mom, Brittany every single day in my AP English class, dares us to dream again. Begin again. Live again. I love you both so much and I can't imagine what it would be like any other way. So, Brittany, welcome to our crazy family." Before he sat down, the couple hugged him.

* * *

Brittany was dancing with Zach later on and said, "You do know, that you're still not getting special treatment at school, right?"

"Of course, I don't expect anything less."

"Good, so I expect your research paper on my desk on Monday morning."

"Yes, Ms. Evans." He offered with a smile. Brittany laughed and gently hit his arm.

Meanwhile, Santana was dancing with Riley.

"I liked your speech." She said to the smaller version of Brittany.

"You don't have to be nice, Santana."

"It's true though, I did."

"I rambled."

"So? It was still good. Give yourself a little credit."

"Yeah, yeah." Riley buried her face in Santana's chest.

"I love you, you know that, right?"

"Yeah, I love you too, Santana."

"That's good to know."

Later on, Santana had Brittany on her lap, "I love you, Mi Amor." The brunette whispered to her favorite blonde.

"I love you too."

Santana nuzzled her nose into Brittany's neck and wrapped her arms tighter around her. Today was a brand new start to their lives together. Bringing two families and making it into one.


	2. To Dream Again

A few weeks later, Santana and Brittany were sitting at the breakfast table one morning. Brittany was grading some last minute papers and Santana was reading the newspaper. Riley walked into the room and was fully awake as she kissed her mom and Santana on the cheek.

"Good morning, baby girl." Brittany said looking up from the paper she was grading.

"Morning." Riley chirped, as she poured coffee into a coffee cup.

"Why are you so happy this morning?" Santana mumbled behind the Los Angeles Times.

"I don't know, just woke up that way this morning."

"Great...you're just like your mom." Santana mumbled. Which earned her a light kick in the shin from her wife.

"Where's Zach?"

"He got into the shower as I came downstairs." Riley said.

"So, he just got up?"

"No, I think he's been up all night. Writing a paper or something. He looked like hell when he was walking towards the shower."

Santana puts the newspaper down and looks over at Brittany.

"What love?" Brittany says feeling Santana's eyes on her.

"What's the paper supposed to be on?"

"It's an argument paper and they have pick a topic and then write a 6-8 page paper defending each side. It's AP English, baby. It's not as easy as regular English classes."

"When was it assigned?"

"Monday."

"That was _two _days ago."

"Baby, it's an advanced English course. And I can't treat him any differently, I have to be professional."

Santana sighed and got up to kiss her wife, "I'm sorry. I just get overly protective of him when he pulls all-nighters and stuff. I didn't mean to snap at you, Mi Amor."

"It's okay." Brittany leaned in and kissed Santana.

"I've gotta go to work now." Santana says resting her forehead on Brittany's.

"Okay." Brittany says with one more kiss.

"I'm going to say goodbye to Zach."

"Okay."

Santana walked up to Zach's room and knocked on the door. When Zach answered, he most definitely looked like hell.

"Morning Mom."

"Morning Mijo. I was just coming up to say goodbye."

"Oh, goodbye then." He leaned down and kissed his mom's cheek.

"Are you okay?"

"Ye- yeah. I just had to write a paper for Brittany's class and I had writer's block until about 2:30 this morning. So I didn't sleep. I just downed a 5 hour energy shot thing, so it should be kicking in soon."

"Do you have football practice today?"

"Yeah."

"Be careful Mijo, please."

"I will, Mom. You should get to work now." He kissed his mom's cheek one more time.

"Okay. I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

Santana walked into her studio still thinking about her son. It looked like there was more going on than just suffering from the aftermath of an all-nighter. She shrugged it off as Puck walked up to her handing her a Red Bull saying, "Dylan Bryant is demanding you do his session."

She sighed, "Okay, thanks Puck."

Between her and Puck, they owned one of the biggest recording companies in Los Angeles and it dumbfounded her why one of the biggest hit sensations always went her to do his session. She didn't complain though, it has helped her support her and her son over the last ten years. Now she had two other people to support. Her wife and her stepdaughter. And the last thing she wanted to do is disappoint them.

Santana walked into the studio where Dylan was and she smiled.

"Are you ready to do this Dylan?"

"Yes ma'am. Thank you, I know you probably have better things to be doing right now."

"Satisfying my clients is my top priority here at Rockstar Recording Company." She offered a small smile.

"Okay then, let's get started."

* * *

Brittany was waiting to start her third period class. It was the period that she had Zach. He walked in just before the late bell and offered his teacher a small, apologetic smile.

"Good morning class, your argument papers are due today. Please pass them forward."

All the students passed their papers forward and once she had them all she started class. Zach sat in his usual seat in the back of the classroom. He sat and watched as his AP English teacher, his stepmom taught with such a passion in her voice.

The truth was, he lied in his speech at his mom's wedding. He was still livid that his mom was madly in love with his AP English teacher. His was still livid that he sat and listened to her for close to two hours before lunch and then had to go home after practice to her at dinner. He knew that he should've just told his mom the truth, but she was happy. She didn't go all Lima Heights on someone just because they pissed her off. He enjoyed his mom's happiness, he just didn't enjoy it being with one of the teachers that he hated the most.

Class was over and Zach was walking out when Brittany stopped him.

"Zach?"

He took a deep breath before turning back around, "Yes, Ms. Evans?"

"I uh wanted to make sure you were okay, you seemed a little off in class today."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a lot on my mind."

"O-okay. Everything's good though, right?"

"Remember that invisible line we talked about when you and my mom first started dating?" He whispered.

"The one where I was still your teacher here and not just some person who's in love with your mom? Yeah, I remember."

"I think you're on the verge of crossing it."

"What do you mean? Every teacher asks if their student is okay when they seem off."

"It's whatever Ms. Evans. I'm pretty hungry. So, I'm going to go to lunch now.

"Okay." Brittany said after a deep sigh. "See you after football practice." She whispered.

Zach walked out of the room and walked into the cafeteria as Brittany sat alone in her classroom trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with her stepson.

* * *

School was over and Zach was heading to football practice. Wednesday and Thursday football practices were always more intense then Monday and Tuesday's football practices. He was stretching out when his coach was walking over to him.

"Lopez!" He called.

"Yeah, Coach?"

"I know you were planning on going to a junior college to play some ball before going to a university, but I think you may want to reconsider that."

"W-why?"

"Scouts will be at our homecoming game next week."

"Sc-scouts from where?"

"Varying from Stanford, USC, Texas A&M, NYU, and a few others. It's _your _chance to shine, Lopez. Don't you want to do something great with your life once you leave these small prep school? Something more than starting out at Los Angeles City College? I've seen your grades, you're worth more than that. Tell me that you'll at least take this next week to think about it."

Zach sat there for a minute and let the words of his coach just sink in before saying, "Okay."

"Okay, thank you. I just want to see you do more with your life."

Zach had a small smile on his face, knowing that his coach did care.

* * *

Practice on no sleep was brutal for Zach, but he dragged himself into the house where he saw his mom and Brittany making dinner together in the kitchen.

"Hey Mijo. Go shower and dinner should be ready when you're done."

"Okay." He smiles at his mom and doesn't even look at Brittany.

He walked upstairs when Brittany sighs.

"Everything okay, baby?" Santana asked as she wrapped her arms around her wife.

"I think so. Zach has just been acting weird around me ever since the wedding."

"What do you mean?"

"He just sits in the back of my class and doesn't say anything and barely does anything."

"Is he failing?"

"No, he has an A, but it's like he doesn't want to be there."

"It's his senior year, I know I didn't want anything to do with my senior year."

"You also spent a better part of your senior year pregnant with him and breaking up with Matt."

"True. But, I don't know, I mean, he's still doing good in your class, so what's there to worry about?" Santana lightly kissed her wife's cheek. "Come on, let's finish making dinner, have dinner with our kids, and then tonight, I promise to make you forget about everything, and make some pretty hot and sexy love to you."

Brittany moaned, "I think that sounds like a plan."

And with that, the night went exactly as planned. They finished making dinner, they had dinner with their kids, which Zach was quiet through most of, and then Santana led Brittany into their room and they made some pretty hot, sexy love to one another before Brittany fell asleep in Santana's arms.


	3. To Begin Again

**A/N:** For all of you who are wondering why Zach is 180 degrees opposite from the first chapter to the next, you'll find out why in this chapter. I'm trying to shake thing up, keep you in suspense a little. He'll get better as the story goes on, I promise. Just hang in there.

* * *

Riley was sitting next to her mom on the couch watching television that Saturday afternoon. Riley had her head on her mom's shoulder and Brittany had her arm wrapped around her daughter stroking her fingers through her hair. Santana was in her home office working on some paperwork and Zach was in his room playing Madden on his Xbox with earbuds connected to his iPod in his eyes. He was hoping to ignore his mom, stepmom, and stepsister for a while.

Riley should've been at her dad's house, but he had a last minute business trip, so she just cuddled into her mom. She hasn't seen her dad much since her mom married Santana and she was just taking it as a pure coincidence.

Brittany sat there looking at the television screen, holding her daughter, and completely lost in her thoughts. Santana came in and brought her out of her thoughts by kissing her forehead.

"Hey baby." Brittany softly said.

"Hey love." Santana said sitting next to her. "Where's Zach?"

"In his room, I think."

Santana kissed Brittany's temple and then walked up to Zach's room. His door was slightly open and she knocked as she walked in.

"Hey Mijo?"

"Yeah?" He said softly, pulling an earbud out of his ear.

"Whatcha up to?" The mother sat down next to her son.

"Playing Madden, listening to music."

"Okay, is everything okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

Santana took a deep breath, knowing she was about to open up something that he maybe didn't want to talk about.

"Brit-Brittany said a couple of days ago that you've been acting weird around her ever since the wedding."

It was Zach's turn to take a deep breath. "I-it's nothing. I'm just adjusting to living with three women."

"Are you sure? Because I've been sensing that there's something more going on."

"Yeah, I'm sure. Don't worry about it, Mom."

"O-okay."

Zach grabbed the second controller, "Wanna play for a while?"

"Sure. I'd love to."

* * *

The four sat down for dinner a few hours later, they were sitting around a few pizza boxes. Santana and Brittany were sharing one and Zach and Riley each had their own.

"So," Brittany said, "we haven't gotten to really talk to you both this week. Anything exciting happen?"

"Isaiah and I broke up." Riley mumbled. Isaiah was Riley's first boyfriend, they had been together for two years. It was one of the only boys Brittany actually liked.

"I'm sorry, baby girl." Brittany said with an apologetic look on her face.

"It's whatever. I'm young, I'll get over it."

"That's true," Santana mumbled. "What about you, Mijo?"

"Nothing really. Coach Kennedy wants me to reconsider my college plans."

"Why's that?" Santana asked softly.

"A bunch of scouts are coming to Friday's game."

"That's great, Mijo." Santana said. "From where?"

"He said they're varying from Stanford, USC, Texas A&M, NYU, and a few others."

"Wow, that's great." Brittany said softly.

"Coach said that with my grades I should settle for more than just Los Angeles City College."

"He's right, Mijo."

"NYU looks like a great school." He mumbled behind his water cup.

"It's also all the way across the country." Santana said softly.

"A new start doesn't sound like a bad idea right about now."

"Why's that?" Santana asked looking up from the pizza box.

"Change is good every once in a while, right?"

"Yeah, but Zach you've been acting weird since the wedding." Brittany said softly.

"What exactly do you mean by that, Brittany?" He said bitterly.

"Zach..." Santana warned.

"I just mean, you barely participate in class, around campus you avoid me like the plague, and around here you hide in your room. Kind of like you did when your mom and I first started dating." Brittany said softly looking down at her hands in her lap.

"You don't realize what you did to me freshman year, do you?" Zach said, just above a whisper, shaking his head in disbelief.

"N-no?" Brittany questioned.

_**Flashback:**__(Freshman year)_

Zach walked into his AP English class on the first day of his freshman year. He didn't understand why he had to take English every year and he didn't understand why it was his first period class. He readjusted his tie on his uniform before he walked in, he found a seat in the back of the classroom. He was new to Lincoln Preparatory Academy. He was new to Los Angeles. He had no friends and the only person he knew at this school was the guidance counselor, Ms. Fabray, because that was his godmother. They acted like they didn't know each other on campus though.

Zach watched as his AP English teacher for the next four years walked into the room. She introduced herself. And after a half an hour gave them their first in-class assignment. She had them write a short paper to introduce themselves. Zach got out a piece of paper and started writing:

_My name is Zachary Lopez and I just turned 14, a few days ago. I was born in a small town called Lima, Ohio. My mom has raised me by herself, my father left right after he graduated from high school when he joined the Marines. I think I've only seen him once or twice. My mom and I just moved from New York City about a month ago, so she could start her own record label with a high school friend. I actually enjoy it here better than New York. I play football, I hear it's the only thing my father and I share. And it sure makes my mom's dad, my grandfather, pretty proud of me. There's not too much to me. I'm shy kid, I don't come out of my shell too much. I don't say much because I don't have much to say._

The bell rang and everyone turned in their papers as they walked out of class. Zach was the last one to walk out and as soon as he put his paper down she looked at who this kid was.

"_Zachary Lopez?" _She thought, _"__Born in Lima, Ohio? Is this...Santana Lopez's kid? No?"_

It was the first paper she decided to grade when she sat down and graded it. She wrote a little note on the bottom of each paper. Zach's read this:

_You should come out of your shell more. I'm sure you have a lot to offer. Sometimes people don't live up to their greatest potential because of fear. I look forward to getting to know you over the next four years. -Ms. Evans_

Zach read that and the first thing he thought was, _"__She doesn't know me and now I refuse to let her get to know me. I don't need this. Just get me the hell out of this stupid prep school. I hate this class already, hell, I hate this school already."_

**_Flashback Ended_**

"So, let me get this straight," Brittany said, "you don't like me because I told you to come out of your shell a little?"

"I don't like you because you didn't know me, yet you thought it would be a good idea to give me advice that my mom had been telling me since the freaking sixth grade. I didn't want to hear it from you. You didn't know me, hell, you still don't me you never took the time to get to me. You were always so wrapped up in this love affair you had with my mom."

"Zachary Santiago..." Santana warned again.

"What?" He snapped looking at his mom, "You're not innocent here either, you know?"

"What do you mean?" Santana snapped back.

"You do realize that today is the first time you've played video games with me or even took the time to hang out with me since you and your high school lover over here got together."

"Zach! Come on, you're not being fair here." Brittany said.

"Not being fair? Hate to break it to you Brittany, but I actually do miss spending time with my mom."

"I _never _took that away from you!" Brittany yelled.

"Then where the hell has she been for last few years?" He yelled back.

"So, you lied?" Brittany said, "To me _and _your mom."

"So maybe I did, but hell I was doing it because I know how much you make her happy and I didn't want her to go back to the way she was." Zach stood up, roughly pushed his chair in, and walked towards the front door.

"Mijo, where are you going?"

"Anywhere, but here. I can't do this right now, Mom. I need an out." He said slipping on his Vans and grabbing his keys off the key hook.

Santana sighed, knowing he was right, "Be back by curfew please."

"Thank you, I will." He shut the door and started his car while Santana put her head in her hand, trying not to sob.

"Um, Riley, honey," Brittany said softly, "do you mind giving me and Santana a moment?"

"Yeah, sure." Riley walked out of the room as Brittany mouthed a thank you and scooped her wife in her arms, trying to comfort her. Santana buried her face in Brittany's chest, as she let her wife comfort her.

* * *

Zach drove around for about an hour, he finally stopped on top of a hill that overlooked the city of Los Angeles. He was watching the sun set. He had the radio on low, he felt awful. He hated himself for the way he just treated his new stepmom in front of her daughter and his mother. He took a deep breath as his phone rang, it was Quinn.

"Hey Aunt Quinn," he said softly, "I don't think now is a good time to talk."

"Brittany just called me. Are you crazy?"

"Aunt Quinn," he was almost crying now, "please, don't."

"No, listen to me, kid. I know it isn't easy living with three women. It probably was hard enough living with your mom alone, but if you hate Brittany as much as it sounds, why would you agree to let her marry your mom? And then lie for however long you did."

"Do you remember how lonely and sad my mom was before Brittany came along? I figured once I graduated I'd move out start my own life. Visit them on the holidays. Don't act like you were happy with their relationship at first."

"You're right, I wasn't, but at least I didn't spend the last three years lying to them."

"Look, I already hate myself a lot, please don't make me hate myself more."

"Why do you hate yourself?"

"Because I'm a horrible person. Who can hate someone as loving and caring as Brittany?"

"Why do you hate her? Because of that advice she gave you freshman year?"

"No because she did what I tried to do for so long."

"And what's that?"

"Made my mom happy." Tears fell down his face.

A moment of silence happened between the two before Quinn said, "Do you think you never made your mom happy? Because kid, you did, more than you'll ever know. More than she'll ever understand."

"I screwed up."

"Yeah, you kind of did. But, I calmed both your mom and Brittany down. Calm yourself down and then go back and make it right with them."

"Thank you."

"I love you kid. So does your mom. Hell, so does Brittany. I think you should try to build a relationship with her...and reconsider going all the way across the country for school next year."

"How did you..."

"Brittany told me the whole story before breaking down."

"Shit..." Zach mumbled under his breath.

"Take a few deep breaths, turn your car back on, go home, and make it right."

"Ye-yes ma'am."

"I love you."

"I love you too," Zach said above a whisper.

"Goodbye."

"Bye."

* * *

Zach did what his godmother said and was home thirty minutes later. He found his mom and Brittany cuddled up on the couch watch a bad reality tv show. He sat down on the love seat next to the couch. Santana muted the television as they both looked at Zach.

"I- I was out of line. I'm sorry. I said some pretty shitty things. Things that now I wish I could take back."

"Why did you let it build up like this?" Santana asked softly.

"Because Brittany did something that I tried so hard to do, but could never do."

"What's that?" Brittany asked softly.

He looked down for a moment and then looked back up into Brittany's eyes, "You made my mom happy. I spent 14 years trying to do that and you did it in 15 seconds in that coffee shop."

"Oh..." Brittany said looking down at her hands.

"Mijo, you always made me happy. Maybe I never showed it, but I was always happy around you."

He looked down at his hands again and then back up, "I want to try to have a relationship with you Brittany. Th-that is if you can forgive me."

"I already forgave you, the moment you walked out of the house." Brittany got up and sat down next to Zach.

"Aunt Quinn said she had to calm you down on the phone though."

"That's only because I didn't know where you went and I was worried."

"Let's begin again. Build a relationship. How does that sound?"

"It sounds perfect to me." Brittany said embracing him in a hug.

So they sat there and cried for a little bit, Santana sat on the other side of her son. It was the moment that Brittany and Zach's relationship started to begin again.


	4. To Live Again

**A/N: **I apologize for the wait, had a little writer's block until this evening. Hope you enjoy this update!

* * *

A couple of days later, Zach found himself opening up a door of an uptown restaurant on the other side of town for Brittany. They decided to go on a bunch of mother/son like dates to build a relationship. Zach had just gotten his paycheck from work and was willing to spend it on his stepmom, he wanted to build this relationship just as much as she did. It was a start.

"So, how was your day?" Brittany asked while they were looking over the menus.

"Good. Nothing special really happened. How was yours?"

"Same."

After the waiter came and took their orders, they continued to talk and get to know each other.

"So, what made you want to become a teacher?" Zach asked.

"I loved working with kids and my English courses in college intrigued me. I was originally working my way into a dance school. I mean I still love to dance, but after my first English class in college, I knew that I wanted to teach English."

"Well, you make AP English worth going to." He said behind a small smile, "I'd be lying if I said it wasn't one my favorite classes. You just make it so worth it."

Brittany blushed, "I remember in high school how I had teachers that were just there for the paycheck, they didn't love their job. And I never wanted to be that kind of teacher. I want my students to love what I'm teaching them, I'm there for my than just the paycheck."

"Good to know."

"Do you have a clue on what you want to study when you get to college?"

"Ye-no. I mean kind of."

"And what do you mean by 'kind of'?"

"I want to be a writer. Like a journalist or something like that."

"You'll be a great one."

"Really?"

"Yeah, of course. I kind of put off your papers to grade last because it's like a treat after all the students who bull shit their essays. You actually take time to think before you write."

"I always do an outline before I write, to keep my thoughts in order." He admitted sheepishly.

"Good, that's what a teacher likes to hear." Brittany said behind a smile. The two had a pleasant conversation for the rest of dinner.

* * *

The next morning, Santana was sitting in her office in the studio going over some paperwork when her phone rang. It was her assistant, Sarah.

"Hello?"

"Ms. Lopez?"

"Sarah, we've gone over this, cut the Ms. Lopez, shit. It's just Santana, what's up?"

"Someone's here demanding to talk to you."

"Who is it?"

"Matthew Taylor."

"Send him in." Santana said with a shaky breath.

"Okay."

Santana shut her eyes and counted to ten before a tall blonde haired man wearing a United States Marine uniform walked in.

"Good morning Santana."

"Morning Matthew."

"How are you?"

"Good. You?"

"I'm good."

The room fell to an awkward silence for a good ten seconds.

"Okay, I'm going to cut the shit and be blunt. Why the hell are you here?"

Matthew took a deep breath, "I've been stationed in Oceanside at Camp Pendleton and I realized how much of an ass I was for leaving like that. I want a second shot on being in Zach's life."

"Why?"

"He's my kid, Santana and I want to be there for him."

"You have any idea how much shit you caused that day, Matthew?"

"No, but I can imagine it was a lot worse than what I can picture in my head."

"He thought you left because _he _did something wrong. He thought you left because you didn't love him anymore. You can't keep doing this. He's seen you _twice _in his life and every time you don't come back when you say you will, it makes him feel like it's _his _fault. I can't allow you to keep doing this to him."

"I realized that I've been a horrible father, but Santana, here me out. I know life hasn't been easy for him, but just let me take him out to dinner. Talk things over and if he doesn't want anything to with me, I'll leave you two alone."

"I'm going to have to think about it, Matthew."

"Yes ma'am, I completely understand."

Santana turned around and looked at the view of the city from out her window. Matthew looked at a pictures she had on her wall. It was a picture of Zach in his letterman jacket smiling as he ate a sandwich at what looked like a park and then another picture of her and Brittany after Santana had proposed to her. Brittany was sitting on her lap and they were smiling endlessly. The picture under those two was a picture at Huntington Beach with all four of them; Santana, Brittany, Zach, and Riley. Matthew then took a deep breath knowing that he has missed a lot in the last 17 years.

"You know, you basically signed your rights as a father away the moment you left that first time." Santana said softly.

"I thought I was doing the right thing at the time."

"I needed you, Matthew. Our son, he needed you and you just left."

"I-I know. I feel awful."

"Give me a few days, I'll have an answer for you in a few days."

"Yes ma'am."

Matthew turned on his heels and left the office.

* * *

Santana got home later than normal that evening.

"Oh perfect timing," Brittany said coming to the front door giving her wife a kiss, "Dinner's ready."

"Sorry, I got tied up at work."

"Don't worry about it love. I'm just glad you're home now." Brittany brought her wife into a hug and she realized that something was going on. "Are you okay?"

"Can we talk about it later? I just want a nice family dinner right now."

"Sure. Can you go get the kids?"

"Absolutely hermoso."Santana walked up the stairs to get Zach and Riley. She passed Riley's room first and poked her head in, "Hey sweetie."

"Oh hey, Santana." Riley looked up from her laptop. "What's up?"

"Dinner's ready."

"Okay, I'll be down in a minute."

"Okay." Santana made her way to Zach's room and he was looking down at his trigonometry textbook. "Hey kid."

"Hey Mom." He said looking up from the textbook. "Dinner ready?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." He got up and followed his mom downstairs.

* * *

After dinner the kids went upstairs to finish their homework. Leaving Santana and Brittany to their usual weekday after dinner clean up and cuddles.

They sat on the couch turning on the television, they normally just made out during this time, but Brittany noticed something was off with her wife when she just wanted to cuddle. She wasn't opposed to it, she loved it when Santana just held her. But, something didn't seem right.

"Santana, baby?"

"Yes, Mi Amor?"

"What's wrong?"

Santana took a deep breath while playing with some of the blonde locks that belonged to her wife before saying, "Matt visited my office today."

"What, why?" Brittany immediately began to worry.

"He wants back in Zach's life."

"What did you say?"

"To give me a couple of days to think about it."

"Why didn't you call me?"

"Because you were at work."

"That hasn't stopped you before."

"I did a lot of thinking."

"And what did you come up with?" The blonde asked snuggling more in the brunette.

"That it should be up to Zach to decide."

"Wait, why?"

"He's 17, if he wants his dad back in his life, I shouldn't hold him back from that."

"Even after everything Matt's put him through?"

"Yeah. I mean, it isn't forgivable, at all. But, he seemed to be genuine."

"Whatever you think is best, baby. I'll support you no matter what."

Santana kissed the top of Brittany's head, "I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

Riley was sitting up in her room doing some English homework when her dad called.

"Hey Daddy."

"Hey Princess, how are you?"

"I'm good. How are you?"

"Good. Look I'm going to have to cancel this weekend."

"Oh okay. May I ask why?"

"I'm still in New York working and will be until the middle of next week."

"Oh, okay."

"I'm so sorry Princess."

"I-it's fine. I understand."

"Well, I have to go. I love you."

"I love you too, Daddy."

Riley hung up the phone with tears developing in her eyes. She's never missed her dad as much as she does now.

She looks back at her essay for her English class and continued working on it until it was done. It wasn't due for another two days, but she had to do something to get missing her dad out of her mind.

* * *

The next morning at breakfast, Santana was going to leave it up to Zach if he wanted his dad to be in his life or not. Zach walked in wearing his Lincoln Prep uniform and sat down in his spot for breakfast. Riley came in shortly after wearing her uniform and sat next to her stepbrother.

"Morning." Brittany chirped.

"Morning." The two teenagers mumbled at the same time.

Breakfast got started when Santana dropped the bomb.

"So, Zach."

"Yeah?" He said looking up from his cereal.

"I got a visit from your dad yesterday."

"Okay?"

"He wants to have dinner or something with you."

"Wh-what?"

"He wants to try to build a relationship with you."

"Why?"

"He realized he screwed up."

"I-I don't understand. I thought he wanted nothing to do with me."

"He had a heart change."

"Oh."

"It's totally up to you."

"Can I take time to think about it?"

"Absolutely mijo."

An awkward silence filled the room, Brittany finally looked up remembering her daughter hasn't said a word except for a mumbled good morning.

"Baby girl, are you okay?" She asked placing her hand on her daughter's.

"Yeah, why?"

"You're just awkwardly quite. That's all. Santana's normally nicely telling you to shut up."

"I-it's nothing."

"It's something. Baby girl..."

"My dad called me last night to once again reschedule our plans."

Everyone's head shot up when she said that.

"That's like the third time this month." Santana said softly.

"Yeah. Trust me, I know."

"Riley, honey," Brittany placed her hand on the teenager's forearm.

"I don't want to talk about it, okay?"

"Okay."

The breakfast continued in silence. Riley was on the verge of crying, Santana and Brittany occasionally looked over at Riley, and Zach was in deep thought.

"_All she wants is for her dad to be around and my dad is around and I don't even want to go see him. Maybe I should give my dad one last chance." _He thought.


	5. To Trust Them Again

It's been over two weeks since that breakfast. Zach still hasn't made up his mind whether or not to see his dad. Riley was still upset for her dad just not being in her life anymore. She would cry herself to sleep most nights.

Santana and Brittany were cuddling on the couch while they watched college football with Zach. Riley had come in from a run and after her shower made her way to the kitchen to eat. She hasn't been eating a lot lately. Brittany got up and walked into the kitchen and saw her daughter drinking some water as she grabbed herself Top Ramen.

"Do you want me to make you something baby girl?"

"No, I can make myself some Top Ramen. No big deal."

"No really, I can make you something."

"Mom, I got it. It's not that big of a deal. I'm not starving, but I'm hungry. Please." The teenager almost cried.

"Baby girl, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing." She looked up at her mom, who had her eyebrows raised, "okay. I-I miss my dad and every Saturday when I go over there, he always makes me something to eat. And it just makes me miss him." Brittany took a step closer to her daughter, "An-and ever since you and Santana got married, he's just been gone. And I-I want to think of it as a coincidence, but I j-just can't anymore."

"Hey, hey," Brittany wrapped her arms around her daughter, "it's okay. Do you want me to talk to him?" She shook her head no, "Are you sure? Because I can."

"N-no. I j-just want him here." She cried into her mom's chest. Brittany just stood there with her arms wrapped around her baby girl. She didn't know what to tell the emotional teenager in her arms.

"Do you want me to make you that Top Ramen for you?" Brittany asked a few minutes later.

"Sure."

The mother/daughter sat in the kitchen in silence until Riley was done with Top Ramen.

"I-I'm gonna go up to my room now."

"Okay, baby girl."

Riley went upstairs and Brittany stood there not knowing what to do. She picked up her cell phone that was on the kitchen counter and called Sam.

"_Hello?"_ He answered.

"Sam, it's Brittany."

"_Hey Britt, what's up?"_

"Where are you now?"

He chuckled before saying, _"__Lima, why?"_

"What the hell are you doing in Lima?"

"_Is that really any of your business, Britt?"_

"Well, I know I have an emotional kid here because she misses you."

"_I know, I miss her too."_

"Sam, when we separated we agreed to be friends, for her sake."

"_I know Britt."_

"Then why hasn't she seen you in person since before Santana and I got married?"

"_I've been working, you know, it's not like I have two steady incomes coming into my house anymore."_

"What's _that _supposed to mean?"

"_Britt, why are you calling?"_

"Because I can't take my daughter breaking down anymore."

_"__Last time I checked, she was our daughter."_

"Then come back to LA and be apart of _our _daughter's life. Is that too much to ask?"

"_That's easier said than done, Britt. I can't just drop everything and go back to LA for Riley. As much as I want to."_

"She needs you."

"_What about you?"_

"What do you mean, 'what about you?'?"

"_You know exactly what I mean, Britt."_

"I'm married to Santana now. You had your chance."

"_I never had a chance." _He mumbled into the phone.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"_You were always in love with Santana. Even when she was with Matt."_

"So? I gave you close to twenty years of my life, Sam."

"_Look, I get back into LA tomorrow evening. I'll take Riley out for like a father/daughter date or something."_

"Do you mean that?"

"_Of course, I do Britt. Why no faith in me all of a sudden?"_

"You've blown her off for a month and a half."

"_I've been working."_

"I don't care. Man up, get over you _fucking _pride. Spend some time with your daughter."

"_I don't get why your so mad at me all of a sudden, Britt."_

"I need you to man up and be here for our daughter. She misses you."

"_I know, I miss her too."_

"Then you know what to do, bye Sam."

"_Bye Britt."_

* * *

Santana was passing Riley's room later that afternoon. She was pretty sure she heard muffled cries coming from the bedroom.

"Riley?" Santana knocked on the door.

Riley got up to answer the door, when she opened it, Santana saw red puffy eyes.

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

"Just peachy." The teenager said sarcastically.

"How about we cut the bull shit and tell Santana the truth?" The brunette said to the already emotional teenager.

Riley broke down again. Santana didn't know what to do. She didn't want to call Brittany into the situation because she knew that would just make it worse. Santana wrapped her arms around the girl and got her to her bed.

"I-I'm sorry."

"Hey, hey. Don't apologize. Just tell me what's up."

"I j-j-just miss my dad."

"I know you do. You know, I don't want to try to fill the shoes of your dad. But, I do want you to know that I'm here for you." She held the teen as she continued to cry.

"Thanks, I guess."

"Is there anything I can do?" Santana asked hesitantly.

"N-no."

"Are you sure?"

Riley looks down at her hands on her lap. She saw how her mom and Zach were working on a relationship. She wanted a relationship with Santana. She wasn't sure if she should trust her yet or not. Santana was still somewhat of a stranger to Riley. The fact that she was allowing Santana to hold her was only because she needed to be held at that moment.

"I-I want a relationship with you Santana, b-but you're still somewhat of a stranger to me. I'm having a hard time trusting you right now."

"I understand. Do you want to build a relationship? Like how your mom is with Zach?"

"K-kinda."

"Kinda?"

"Okay, I do."

"Well, how do you think we should start building it?"

"My mom said you played soccer when you were younger."

Santana smiled, "That I did."

"Maybe you could kick a soccer ball around with me or something?"

"Help you out with offseason training? That's sounds like fun." Santana said behind a huge smile.

"Yeah?"

"Absolutely."

Riley smiled and cuddled more into Santana, maybe it was a start. She by no means replaced Sam, but at least she was willing to get to know her and help her with her offseason training.

* * *

Zach was sitting in his room looking over brochures from USC, Stanford, and NYU. All three schools offered him a full ride football scholarship. Brittany walked passed his room and saw him rubbing his temples.

"Hey," she said coming behind him rubbing his shoulders, "what's got you all worked up?"

"Growing up," he mumbled.

Brittany chuckled, "Ah. College brochures."

"Yup."

She continued to rub his shoulders, "So have you narrowed down your options?"

"No and it's fucking irritating." He mumbled.

"Well, you said you wanted to go to school to become a journalist or something. Have you researched any of their journalism programs?"

"Yeah and of course, they're all good." He said.

"Well, have you made a pro and con list?"

"No," he mumbled.

"That could be a start." She said continuing to kneed into his shoulder blades.

"Thanks, Britt."

"Don't mentioned it. Do you want me to make you some tea or something?"

"Sure." He said with a smile.

Brittany went down to make him tea and he looked at his laptop with the website to USC up. The only real con for Stanford and NYU is that it's far away from his mom. And he had just really started to get to know Brittany. He was at a loss because he always dreamed about going to Stanford, but never thought he was good enough. He then thought about why he never thought he was good enough.

_**Flashback**__(Zach – age 7)_

Zach was lying in bed one night when he heard his parents arguing quietly on the other side of the wall.

"Matt, you can't just leave him like this." Santana whisper shouts.

"Why not?"

"He's a kid, thinking you're going to be here helping me make breakfast tomorrow morning. You said you'd be different this time around."

"And what am I supposed to do? I can't just say _'no' _to the United States Military, not even to mention government, Santana. I have to go."

"And what am I supposed to tell our son, Matt?"

"The truth."

"There's more to it here, Matt."

"He's a good kid, but I don't think I want to be around anymore."

"You just told him an hour and a half ago that you'll be around. You're such a _fucking _asshole, Matt."

"You two have a life here and I feel like I'm intruding."

"Just because I refuse to go out with you again, doesn't mean you're intruding."

"All I really wanted was you."

"Well, you had your chance. I'm sorry."

"Well, I have to go back. I'm sorry."

"If I have an emotional kid tomorrow morning, it's going to be your fault."

"Fine, whatever."

Zach started to quietly cry, he didn't understand why his parents were fighting, he didn't understand why his dad was just leaving. At this moment, he felt like he wasn't good enough.

_**Flashback Ended**_

He then decided that the memory of his dad leaving him wasn't going to haunt him anymore. He grabbed his phone where his mom had programed Matthew's number in his phone just in case he wanted to call him and dialed the number.

"_Hello?"_

"H-hi Dad. It's Zach."

"_Hey kid."_

"I was wondering if you'd like to get coffee or something."

"_I'd love to, when are you available?"_

"Can we do tomorrow? Around ten?"

"_Sure. Anywhere you had in mind?"_

"There's a nice coffee shop downtown on 9th St."

"_Yeah, I've seen it."_

"It isn't going to be trouble?"

_"It's just an hour and a half away and I do nothing on Sundays anyway."_

"Okay, cool."

"_See you then."_

"Yeah, bye Dad."

"_Bye kid."_

He hung up the phone and thirty seconds later, Brittany came in with a hot cup of tea.

"Thanks Britt."

"No problem."

* * *

The next afternoon, Zach grabbed his letterman jacket and his car keys and walked out the door.

"Alright, I'm leaving, I'll be back in a couple of hours."

"Where are you going?" Santana asked coming into the entryway.

"I told you coffee with my dad."

"Oh, right." She hugged him.

"Wait," he said catching his mom before she walked completely away.

"Yeah?"

"You're okay with this, right?"

"Of course, mijo."

"Okay, I love you."

"I love you too."

Santana went back to the living room where she was cuddling with Brittany.

"Where was he going?" Brittany mumbled into her wife's chest.

"Coffee with Matt."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I guess to get some closure on some of the stuff that's going through his mind right now."

"That's good." She looked up at Santana and kissed her. They continued kissing until they were making out on the couch like a couple of teenagers.

* * *

Zach sat in the coffee shop waiting for his dad. He stared down at his cup of coffee when his dad walked in.

"Hey kid."

"Hi Dad."

"Thanks for meeting with me."

"You're welcome."

"How are you?"

"Good. You?"

"I'm good. You've gotten big over the last..."

"Ten years."

"Yeah."

"You play football?"

"Yeah, QB."

"That's good."

"I was the first sophomore in Lincoln Prep history to play on the varsity."

"You're good at it?"

"I guess."

"You don't have to be humble."

"Yeah, it's cool." An awkward silence came between the father and son before Zach said, "You know I heard the argument between you and my mom the night you left."

"You did?"

"Yeah, she doesn't know that, but I cried myself to sleep that night."

"I-I'm sorry."

"I needed you."

"I know."

"I wanted a relationship with you."

"I understand."

"You just left me after you _promised _you'd try to be there."

"I-I know."

"You know I still have low self-esteem because of that."

"I-I didn't know."

"I was going to go to a community college with a 4.0 average because I felt like I wasn't good enough for any university."

"What, why?"

"Because if my own father left me when I was seven after _promising _me that he'd be there because he didn't care, why should any university care. I have never felt good enough."

"I-I'm sorry."

"Why do you want to be back in my life _now_?"

"I had a heart change."

"After ten _years_?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"I done feeling guilty."

"I don't want your pity."

"Zach please, just hear me out."

"Okay."

"Yeah, I feel like an asshole. I left you at a vulnerable age. I need you to understand that I get that you needed me. At that time I only came back to get your mom back, but I realized that I was never going to get her back, I just left. Forgetting the promise I made to you. I know I can't make up not being there for you. But, let's try. Please?"

Zach had a tear come down his face and from there the father and son sat for two hours getting to know each other.


	6. To Make A Choice Again

Riley was home by herself on a Saturday afternoon. Santana and Brittany were having a date day and Zach was at football practice because Lincoln Preparatory Academy's varsity football team was going to the state championship a week later.

The doorbell rang as Riley was sitting on the couch watching tv. She got up and looked through the peephole and saw that it was her dad.

"Daddy?" She said as she opened the door.

"Hi Princess."

"W-what are you..."

"I was wondering if I could take you out on a father/daughter date."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"D-do you wanna come in while I go change?"

"Sure." Sam took a step into the house.

Riley went upstairs to go change and Sam sat on the couch watching the college soccer game that Riley was watching. She came down a few minutes later.

"You ready?" He asked turning the television set off for her.

"Yeah, I'll text my mom when we get into the car."

"Okay." He hugged his daughter and then kissed her forehead.

When they got into the car, Riley texted Brittany.

_To Mom:_

_Hey mom, my dad showed up at the house wanting to take my on a father/daughter date. Just so you know._

_Sent: Saturday, November 8__th__, 3:14pm_

"So, are you hungry?" Sam asked focused on the road.

"Yeah." Riley said feeling her phone vibrate in her lap.

_From Mom:_

_Okay, baby girl. Thanks for letting me know. Have a great time with your dad. Love you._

_Sent: Saturday, November 8__th__, 3:16pm_

"How about we go to that sushi place, we both like?" He asked.

"Sounds great. I haven't had sushi in a while."

"What? I thought you and your mom had nights where you would go and get sushi?"

"Zach can't eat seafood, so Santana doesn't. We haven't had those nights since before they got married."

"I'm sorry, Princess. Well, I'll start taking you more."

"Yeah?"

"Of course." He placed his hand on her shoulder. "I-I'm sorry I haven't been around much lately."

"I-it's okay, Daddy. I understand that you have work. I j-just missed you a lot."

"I missed you too, Princess."

The father and daughter made it to the restaurant and were enjoying a nice meal. They sat and caught up while eating sushi.

"So, I'm going to be around more." Sam said.

"Really?"

"Yeah, my company is kind of tired of flying me back and forth to New York because our New York branch can't hire a decent software writer."

"Well, I'm glad that you'll be around more."

"I had a question for you though."

"Okay?"

"How would you like to come live with me?"

"What?"

"Live with me and visit your mom on weekends and stuff."

"C-can I think about it?"

"Absolutely."

"Okay."

* * *

Brittany was cuddled into Santana on a picnic blanket with a picnic basket in front of them at a beach. They were making out when Riley texted Brittany.

"Who was that love?" Santana asked as Brittany lied her head on Santana's chest.

"Riley. Apparently Sam came and took her out on a father/daughter date."

"About time." Santana states softly.

"Yeah. Although it has been cute seeing the two of you bond."

"What do you mean?"

"You helping her with her offseason training. I know you miss it a little. I know she appreciates you willing to get to know her."

Santana shrugs a little, "I saw you getting to know my boy and I thought I'd give it a chance with her."

"Your boy is amazing, too. I enjoy our mother/son like dates. He's such a gentleman. You raised him well, baby."

"Thanks."

Brittany looked up into her wife's deep brown eyes and started to make out with her again. They didn't have date days very often, but they always take advantage of the times they do.

* * *

Zach was heading into the locker room after football practice. His coach called him into his office.

"Yeah, Coach?"

"Have you figured out what scholarship you're going to take yet?"

"No, sir. Sorry, still trying to figure it out. All of the recruiters said I could have until the end of the year to figure it out."

"Yeah, but please don't wait until the last moment, Lopez."

"Absolutely. I should have it figured out by the end of Thanksgiving break."

"Okay, cool."

"And Lopez?"

"Yes, Coach?

"No matter what school you choose, it'll be a good one for you."

"Thanks."

Zach walked out of his coach's office and sat in his car for a while. He knew deep down that he wanted to stay close to his mom and Brittany. He knew his mom would be ecstatic and he liked the growing connection he was having with Brittany. He knew deep down that he would choose the University of Southern California.

He wanted to tell his mom and Brittany in a unique way, so he sat there and thought of how to tell them.

* * *

Riley was pacing back and forth in her room later that night. Her door was slightly open when Zach was passing her room. He didn't know Riley that well, but he knew her well enough that if she was pacing back and forth in her room, it wasn't a good thing.

"Hey Riley?" Zach said knocking the door open.

"Yeah Zach?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well for starters, you're pacing back and forth in your room. I know you only do that when something is wrong."

She motioned him farther in her room and looked out of her room to make sure her mom and/or Santana were coming down the hall before she quickly and quietly shut the door.

She took a deep breath before saying, "My dad asked me to move in with him today."

"What?"

"Yeah."

"Have you told your mom yet?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm afraid of her reaction."

"Riley..."

"What?"

"You know how devastated she's going to be."

"No shit, Sherlock."

"Then why are you even thinking of it?"

"Because I want my dad to be back in my life."

"Why move in with him? So he can leave you alone while he goes back and forth between here and New York?"

"He's says his company isn't going to do that anymore."

"Companies change their minds every fucking day, Riley."

"You don't think it's a good idea."

"Of course I don't, but it's your decision and your dad. So if you want to devastate your mom, by all means, go ahead and do it. But, if _my _mom, you know the woman who's willing to help with some offseason soccer training, goes all Lima Heights on your ass, don't say I didn't warn you."

"Why would _your _mom go all Lima Heights on my ass?"

"Because what you're wanting to do, will devastate your mom and you know how my mom gets all protective of her. Riley, I get it, you have this awesome opportunity to make it right with your dad, but you know how much your mom likes waking up knowing that you're going to be downstairs in your school uniform every morning at the breakfast table. Please just think about that before making your final decision."

Zach walked out of her room, she knew he was right, but she wanted more time with her dad. She could tell he was lonely. She knows how it feels to be lonely, she's felt that for the last two months.

* * *

Riley walked downstairs to where Santana was rubbing her mom's shoulders talking about something.

"I think that would be good," she heard Santana say.

"I mean I haven't been back to Lima since before my divorce."

"Baby, wasn't that like eight years ago?"

"Yeah. Never had the money."

"Then let's go for Christmas. The kids will have more time off. Your parents will be happy. I think it'd be good."

"When was the last time you were back in Lima?"

Riley heard Santana swallow hard, "F-for my mom's funeral, six years ago."

She saw her mom get up and hug and kiss Santana, "I'm sorry baby."

Riley thought it would be a good time for her entrance.

"Hey baby girl." Brittany said cuddling into Santana.

"H-hi."

"Everything okay?" Santana asked running her fingers through Brittany's hair.

"K-kinda. I need to talk to you two about something."

"Okay, what's up baby girl?"

"M-my dad asked me to come live with him today."

"What?" The couple said in unison.

"M-my dad..."

"No, no. We heard you." Santana said.

"What did you tell him?" Brittany asked.

"That I'd think about it."

"Why would you..." Brittany tried.

"I figured it would be more time with him since his company sending him all over creation anymore."

"Did he talk to you about this, Britt?" Santana asked.

"N-no."

"Wait," Riley said, "he didn't?"

"No." Brittany said.

"I t-thought he did. I-I'm sorry."

"It's okay baby girl."

"I w-won't move if you don't want me to."

"Do you want to?" Brittany asked.

"Part of me does, but the other part of me doesn't."

"Why do you want to go?"

"Because I miss the relationship I once had with my dad."

"Why don't you?"

"Because I'm afraid to trust what he says right now."

"Why don't you do a trial run. Spend the next few weeks there and if it doesn't work out, you know there's always a place for you here."

"Okay."

"I love you baby girl."

"I love you too, Mom."

"Come here." Brittany detached from Santana opening her arms up for her daughter.

Riley cuddled into her mom, feeling slightly guilty that she was choosing her dad over her. Even if it is for a few weeks.


	7. To Be Thankful Again

Zach walks downstairs on Thanksgiving morning to see Brittany on his mom's lap. Riley has been at her dad's house for almost two and a half weeks and Zach could tell Brittany missed her. It wasn't the same for her to walk down the halls of Lincoln Prep and see her.

Brittany had her nose nuzzled into Santana's neck and Santana was slightly stroking her hands through her wife's hair. When she look up at Zach, he could tell that she had been crying. He poured himself some coffee and went to the table.

"Morning." He said to the couple.

"Morning Mijo."

"Morning Zach."

"What's wrong?" Zach asked Brittany.

"I-I just got a call from Riley. A-apparently Sam's parents came into town for T-thanksgiving and she wants to stay there."

Zach's eyebrows shot all the way up, "I'm sorry Brittany." He saw his mom's arms wrap tightly around Brittany's waist.

"S-she said she'd come over for desert later on though."

Zach got up and crouched down in front of his mom and Brittany, "What if I cheer you up a little?"

"W-what do you mean?"

"I told Coach Kennedy that I'd have my decision on which scholarship I was going to take by Thanksgiving and well it's Thanksgiving and I'm never going to go back on my word."

"Okay?" Both Brittany and Santana said.

Zach got up and went into the other room after saying, "Okay, wait here and close your eyes." The couple closed their eyes and Zach came back in with two USC sweatshirts. "Okay, I know that Thanksgiving isn't meant for people to get anything and for them to be thankful for what they have, but I got you guys something anyway. Open up your eyes."

When the couple opened up their eyes, they both let out a small gasp.

"You chose-" Santana started.

"USC?" Brittany finished.

"Yeah. I'm letting Coach Kennedy know first thing Monday morning, but I wanted you guys to know first."

"Is that why you asked us what sweatshirt size we were?" Brittany asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, I for one am thankful that you'll be close to home." Santana said.

"I second that." Brittany said.

"I'll be living on campus, but it's like twenty minutes from here, so I'll be home on the weekends and can come over for like dinner on some days." He crouched down again and look straight at Brittany, "And more importantly, the bond that you and I are trying to make won't just be something that I did in my senior year. It'll mean something so much more. I love you, Brittany and I'm sorry that your daughter is confusing the hell outta you right now."

Brittany detached from Santana and pulled Zach into a hug, "I love you too, Zach, I love you too."

* * *

Santana, Zach, and Puck were sitting watching the Lions vs. Texans game on tv while Quinn and Brittany were in the kitchen finishing dinner. Santana got up to get her and Puck another beer when she saw her wife almost in tears again while making the mashed potatoes. Santana came and hugged her wife from behind.

"I love you, baby." The brunette whispered into the blonde's ear.

"I love you too."

"She'll be over here in a few hours."

"I know, but it's still not the same."

Santana just stayed there and swayed back and forth with her wife. She could tell this is what Brittany needed the most. She whispered sweet nothings into her ear to get her to relax again. They were brought out of there sweet love fest by Zach and Puck yelling at the tv.

"Come on!" Puck yelled.

"What was that?!" Zach yelled.

"I'll let you go back to making the mashed potatoes." Santana whispered into her wife's ear. Santana kissed Brittany's temple.

"I love you, babe." Brittany whispered as Santana detached from her.

"I love you too, sweetheart."

Santana walked back into the family room where the two men were yelling at the tv.

Quinn came behind Brittany and said, "She thinks it's the right thing to do."

"How do you know?"

"She came into my office last week. She needed advice."

"I'm glad you could give some to her, Q."

"She really misses you."

"I just don't understand why she has to spend Thanksgiving with Sam and his parents, if that's the case."

"She missed Sam too. She's trying to rebuild that relationship."

"Did she tell you all this?"

"Not all, but I could see it in her body language and stuff."

"Well, I'm glad she came to you."

"She feels guilty."

"What, why?"

"She feels like she hurt you for choosing Sam over you."

"I may have made her feel like that."

"What makes you say that?"

"I kinda yelled at Sam two days later."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

_**Flashback**__(About two and a half weeks before)_

Brittany walked into Sam's office two days after telling Riley to take a trial run at her dad's on her lunch break.

"What the hell do were you thinking?" Brittany basically yells.

"Hi, I'm great, thanks. How are you?"

"I'm not here for small talk Sam."

"Then what do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb."

"Are you talking about me asking Riley to move in with me?"

"Yes."

"Okay, what was I thinking? I was thinking how much of a poor excuse of a father I've been ever since you and Santana got married and I was thinking that I'd make it up to _my _daughter."

"Without even consulting with me first? We may not be married anymore, but we still need to consult with each other. What you did was not okay!"

"What do you want me to say Britt? I'm lonely. And you said it was okay."

"Because _she _wanted to do it."

"Okay, then shouldn't it be _her _decision ultimately?"

"Yeah, but seriously, why?"

"I told you Britt, I'm lonely."

"Get a freaking dog or something."

"You act like I'm taking her all the way across the country. Britt, it's just across town. You can still see her."

"Weekends aren't enough for me."

"You have Santana and _whatshisname._"

"Zach?"

"Yeah, him."

"What's that's supposed to mean?"

"You have a reason to go home every night, I don't. I want that reason."

"I don't care! You should've asked me before asking her. That was not okay!"

"I miss you, Britt."

"You had your chance."

Brittany walked out of the room and went back to work.

**_Flashback Ended_**

"That was kind of bold of you, B."

"I know."

"I know you miss her, but like I said _she _thinks she's doing the right thing."

"I miss cuddling with her on Saturday afternoons. I miss coming downstairs and her talking about something that Santana and Zach don't understand. I miss making normal small talk when we pass each other on campus. I miss getting text messages from her letting her know that she loves me. I feel like I fucked everything up here."

"You didn't."

"I know, but I feel like it."

Quinn came behind the blonde and hugged her from behind, "It's going to be okay."

They finished making dinner in silence.

* * *

A few hours later, Riley came into the house.

"Hello?" She called.

"Hey Ri." Santana said coming down the stairs.

"Hi Santana." Riley said softly.

Santana hugged the teenager, "Your mom is in the kitchen."

"Okay."

The two walked into the kitchen and saw Brittany pulling the last pie out of the oven and the two heard Puck and Zach yelling at the tv again.

"H-hi Mom."

Brittany looks up, "Hey baby girl." She went over to hug her daughter. "H-how was Thanksgiving with your dad?"

"It was good." She buried her face into her mom's chest, "I-I missed you though."

"I missed you too, baby girl."

"So...why are both you and Santana wearing USC stuff?"

"Zach made his decision on what scholarship to take. He chose USC."

"So he got you USC gear? He knows that you don't give people gifts on Thanksgiving right?"

"Yeah."

"He's such a dork."

"Yeah." Santana said cutting herself a piece of Apple pie.

Quinn walked into the kitchen and saw Brittany holding Riley close.

"Hey sweetie."

"Hey Aunt Quinn."

"How are you?"

"Good. You?"

"I'm good."

Brittany and Riley sat down and Riley curled into her mom. She missed her mother's embrace just as much as Brittany missed embracing her daughter. Zach came in to get a soda out of the refrigerator and looked at Riley in Brittany's arms. He tensed a little because he knew what Riley had put Brittany through. He warned her not to, but she did anyway. He didn't say a word to her when he passed her. He went back to watch the game. That didn't go unnoticed by Riley and she was hurt by it.

* * *

Later that night, Zach had stepped out into the backyard to get some air. It had been a good day for the most part. He sat on the deck with a hot cup of tea in deep thought.

"_She has no idea what she put Brittany through. She acts like it's nothing. It's so not nothing. She's put her own mother through hell. Making her own mother feeling like she wasn't good enough."_

He was pulled out of his thoughts by Santana coming out of the house.

"Hey kid."

"Hey Mom."

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, Riley just left and before she did she said something to Britt about how you've been avoiding her like the plague."

"How can she act like nothing's wrong? She put Brittany through hell. She's _continuing _to put her through hell."

"I know, kid. But, you can't fight this battle for Brittany."

"I warned her not to do it."

"What?"

"When she was trying to make a decision, I told her not to do it."

"Why?"

"Because I knew how much it was devastate Brittany."

"I know. Things will go back to normal sooner or later."

"Yeah, hopefully."

"What's this you being all protective of Britt these days?"

"Sorry."

"No, no. It's okay. I was just wondering."

"I spent so much time mad at her and now that we're working on a relationship, I can't see her like she has been lately. She puts her teacher face on at school and fakes it. But, I _know _she's faking it."

"I love you mijo." Santana said putting her head on her son's shoulder.

"I love you too." He put his head on her head and wrapped his arm around her.

"I'm _thankful _for you mijo."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"You amaze me. How strong you can be most of the time. How protective you can be."

"I'm just like the male version of you."

"I know. Thanks for choosing USC."

"You're welcome."

The mother/son duo sat and enjoyed each others company for awhile while looking at the stars. Zach held his mom close. It was moments like these he cherished the most.


	8. To Have Hope Again

**A/N: **Okay, look I know Sam seems like an ass. I am pulling the majority of the ideas for this story from real life experiences. It's going to get better, I promise. I have a whole storyline planned. It gets better, I promise. Please hang in there with me? Yeah? Okay, so here's another chapter for you. Please, enjoy!

* * *

Brittany sat in her office at Lincoln Prep grading papers. She was a little behind and school was over. She had been caught up in the emotion of Riley being gone that she neglected her grading. She was beginning to lose passion of the subject that she knew that she loved. She beginning to lose hope in her daughter coming home. She heard a knock on her office door pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Come in." She called.

"H-hi." Riley said coming in, "Is this a bad time?"

"Of course not, baby girl. Come in. What's up?"

"I-I just came by to say hi and I m-miss you."

"I miss you too. You know how you can rectify that, right?"

"H-how?"

"Come home."

"Mom, it's not that simple."

"Oh, really? Because I believe it is."

"I c-can't just leave my dad high and dry."

"He didn't even consult with me first."

"I-I know. But, he knew what you were going to say."

"Oh?"

"He thought you were going to say _'no'_. That's why he didn't."

"What's so good about being there, baby girl?"

"You really want to know?"

"Yes."

"Okay, for starters, he _actually _pays attention to me and isn't infatuated with some high school crush. And two, why would you even care? You've spent more time building a relationship with Zach when you weren't all over Santana."

"Please don't talk to me like that."

"Well, I'm sorry, Mom. This is how it's going to be. I'm tired of being second best in the household."

"I've never treated you as such."

"Oh yeah? Then why have I felt so lonely at home? Why was my favorite part of my days away from you? It's never been like this. I told you exactly how I felt when you asked me how I felt about you and Santana getting married. I'm sorry. I can't do this anymore Mom."

Riley left the room crying. Brittany stared down at the paper she was about to grade.

The assignment that she assigned was the one thing that they have had trouble with in their own life, she looked down and it was Zach's paper and the subject matter couldn't be timed any better.

_Having Hope by Zachary Lopez_

* * *

Santana walked into the house and saw that Brittany was sitting on the couch wearing the brunette's sweatpants and the USC sweatshirt that Zach got her.

"Hey baby." Santana said sitting down next to her wife.

"Hey love." Brittany said putting her head on Santana's shoulder.

"You okay baby?" Santana asked.

"Not really."

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

Brittany shrugged, "Riley came and visited me today in my office."

"Yeah?"

"She went off about how she felt second best. She felt lonely. How I was more infatuated with you and more interested in building a relationship with Zach." Brittany held back emotion. "I'm done crying. I can't do this."

"Can I do anything for you, Mi Amor?"

"Hold me?"

"Of course."

Santana scooped her wife up into her arms. They sat there and watched the evening news.

"How was your day love?" Brittany asked after a few minutes.

"It was good. We signed a new indie band today. Puck's taken over their sessions."

"He's always good at that." Brittany said behind a chuckle.

"That he is. How was your day other than Riley showing up at your office."

"It was okay. I kinda like it when Zach's out of football season. He interacts in class more."

Santana chuckled, "That's good."

"Can we not tell Zach about Riley's visit to my office?"

"Okay, why may I ask?"

"He's been super overprotective of me lately. And I don't want him telling Riley off."

"He's like me. Overprotective of the ones he loves."

"Yeah." They heard the front door open, "Speaking of Zach."

"Hey mijo."

"Hey Mom. Brittany."

"You're home late."

"Study group went later than normal."

"Pizza is on its way." Brittany said with her head on Santana's chest.

"Sweet."

Zach went upstairs to change out of his uniform and Brittany cuddled more in Santana.

"I love you baby." Santana whispered.

"I love you too, babe."

* * *

The next day, Santana texted Riley saying that she wanted to meet up with her to talk about something.

_To Riley:_

_Hey Ri. Was wondering if you could meet me for coffee or something after your soccer conditioning or something. Let me know._

_Sent: Thursday, December 6__th__, 7:19am_

Santana got ready for work when she got a text back.

_From Riley:_

_Sure. That coffee place on third near Lincoln Prep? 3:30?_

_Sent: Thursday, December 6__th__, 7:21am_

_To Riley:_

_Sure, sounds good to me._

_Sent: Thursday, December 6__th__, 7:22am_

The day went by rather quickly. Santana found herself walking into a hipster looking coffee place and saw Riley already sitting down at a table. She order her coffee and then sat down across from the teenager.

"Hey Ri."

"H-hi Santana."

"How are you?"

"G-good. You?"

"I'm alright. My wife on the other hand, not so much."

"What do you want me to say Santana?"

"You're not second best in our house Ri. I know you probably feel that way sometimes with Zach and everything. But, we miss you."

"I know, I do too."

"Then come back. You haven't even been coming over on weekends like you said you would."

"It's not that easy Santana."

"Why isn't it easy, sweetheart?"

Santana's never used the term of endearment with Riley before. It caught the teenager off guard.

"S-she never wanted to be with my dad. She's always loved you. My parents' marriage was a mistake. My conception was a mistake. I am..."

"Don't you dare finish that sentence. You are _not _a mistake."

"I feel like one every single time I see you two together."

"She loves you Ri. Can you think about that before you make your final decision on where you're going to live the majority of the time. You know why Zach's been avoiding you, right?"

"No. Why?"

"He's really protective of the ones he loves and you hurt your mom and avoiding you is the way he's handling it."

"Oh."

"Just think about what your doing before you make your final decision. I'm still here for you. I still want to build a relationship with you and help you gear up for another one of your successful soccer seasons. Let us back in, Ri."

"I have to think about it."

"Okay."

* * *

Brittany was quite, a little too quite for Zach. They were sitting in one of her favorite diners on one of their weekly mother/son like dates.

"Okay, I won't lie, I don't know what to say right now." Zach said after the waiter took their order.

"What do you mean?"

"You were quite during the drive over here, you haven't said a word except your order to the waiter. Brittany, talk to me please."

"It's not you, I promise."

"Okay. Then is it Riley?"

"Yes, but I don't want to talk about it."

They were sitting in a half circle booth and Zach slid over to wrap his arm around his stepmom.

"It's okay." He said calming her down because she was crying into his chest with a fist full of his letterman jacket.

"I-I m-miss h-her."

"I know. She'll get sense knocked in her soon."

"I-I h-hope s-so."

Zach sat there and comforted his stepmom.

* * *

"I don't understand." Riley said, across town at a sushi place, sitting across from her dad, "I thought you said your company wasn't sending you back to New York anymore."

"They're sending me there permanently."

"B-but, D-daddy."

"I know Princess. We'll work it out somehow."

"Daddy, there's no way I'm moving to New York with you."

"Why? You can start over basically."

"What about my mom?"

"What about her Princess? You were the one that said that you felt lonely in that house."

"I-I k-know. B-but, I-I c-can't j-just leave her."

"Princess..."

"No, Daddy. This isn't...fair."

"I know, but it won't be until the first of the new year."

"I c-can't do this. I c-can't go with you." Riley shot up.

"Riley, where are you going?"

"Back where I belong. I don't know why I trusted you in the first place."

Riley ran to the nearest subway station. She had her backpack strap clutched close to her. It took her an hour, but she finally was on the correct side of town. She ran down the street where her mom lived. Tears pouring down her face.

She ran up to the house, where Zach and Brittany had just gotten home from their mother/son like date. She bursted through the front door.

"Mom! Where are you? Mom!"

"What's wrong baby girl?" Brittany came from the family room where she was watching ESPN with Zach.

Riley threw herself at her mom, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for pushing you away. I'm sorry for being so stupid and trusting that my dad would be there. I'm sorry for yelling at you in your office. Please, please love me again. I c-can't do this anymore."

"I never stopped loving you baby girl. Welcome home."

Brittany stood there holding her distraught teenager daughter in her arms. Calming her down and then carrying her up to her room and spooned her from behind until she fell into a deep sleep. Knowing that they would talk about everything tomorrow. That right now all her daughter needed was her to know that her mom still loves her. Even though she put her through hell.


	9. To Start Over Again

**A/N: **To all of the reviews, favorites, and follows, thank you! You have no idea how much they mean to me. I love you all.

So here's another chapter, enjoy!

* * *

A week later, Santana walked into the house from work. She saw Brittany and Riley cuddling on the couch. Ever since Riley came in all distraught, Brittany would wait for her to get out of soccer conditioning and they would go home together and sit and watch tv while cuddling. Rebuilding the mother/daughter relationship.

"Hey baby." Santana whispered in Brittany's ear.

"Hey love." Brittany said kissing her wife.

"Hey Ri."

"Hey Santana." Riley said not taking her eyes off the television set in front of her.

"Where's Zach?"

"He's not home from his study group yet."

"I thought his study group was Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday? It's Friday."

"Finals are next week. I'm sure he's just trying to ensure his success, baby."

"Okay. Wait, then why isn't Riley studying?"

"Because I'm fine with B's and C's, unlike that kid of yours." Riley answered, still not looking away from the television screen.

"He's just trying to prove a point."

"To whom?" Riley said, finally looking away from the television screen, with a confused look on her face.

"Me."

"Why?" The teenager asked looking back at the television screen.

"Because I told him that it's impossible to have all AP classes and be the star of the football team.

"Well, he's proving you wrong. All AP classes, star of a state championship winning football team. Straight _fucking _A student."

"Yeah, yeah." The brunette tousled the teenager's hair.

* * *

Zach was sitting in a coffee shop with his dad after his study group. His study group had left when his dad walked in. They were sitting there enjoying a cup of coffee.

"So," Matthew said, "how are things at home?"

"Eh. Okay, I guess."

"Just okay?"

"There was a lot of drama between Brittany and Riley that's slowly being cleaned up."

"How so?"

"Riley moved in with Sam. Sam didn't consult with Brittany about it and just asked her. Brittany kind of just felt like she did something wrong to cause all of this. I warned Riley not to move in with Sam. She came running home a week ago because Sam said his work wouldn't keep sending him to New York for work and then the company transferred him over to that branch starting next month. So, if I'm right, the mother and daughter duo are cuddling on the couch right now."

"Wow, intense."

"Yup." Zach took a sip off of his coffee.

"I'd never do that to you or your mom, just so you know." Matthew spoke softly after a few minutes.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, although, I've caused enough damage for one lifetime with you two."

Zach chuckled, "That's good to know."

"You know, I love you right?"

"You wouldn't have come back if you didn't, right?"

"Of course not. I only came back because I love you."

"Are you married?"

"No, haven't really dated anyone since your mom."

"May I ask why?"

"Just haven't found the one yet."

Zach nodded his head in acknowledgement.

* * *

Brittany and Riley were still cuddled up on the couch when Zach got home. He and Santana were arguing in the kitchen.

"I thought you said you had a study group!" Santana basically yelled.

"I did and then afterwards I had coffee with my dad. I didn't think that was a problem." Zach said calmly.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Santana yelled at him.

"I didn't know I had to." He said softly.

"I'd like to know next time." She said a little more calmly.

"Okay." He said with the most vulnerable voice anyone has ever heard.

"Mijo..."

"What?"

His voice was soft and small, Santana's never heard him like this before. Santana took a step closer to her son.

"I thought after that first time you got coffee with him, that was it."

Santana's voice was now soft. She looked up at her son, who had vulnerable eyes.

"Yeah, then I got to know him. Got to know how genuine he really is. How much he wants to be in my life. It's not the second time we've met. We've met after school a couple of times."

"Why haven't you told me this?"

"Because did you hear yourself a couple of minutes ago? I was trying to avoid you going all _Lima Heights_."

"I want to protect you."

"From what?"

"Your dad."

"Why?"

Santana's head fell. She didn't know how to tell him how amazing his dad was. She may be gay now, but it doesn't mean she's forgotten how amazing his dad treated her before he found out she was pregnant.

"You think I'm going to do to you what Riley did to Brittany?" He accused. Santana gave him a subtle nod. "That's not fair, Mom!" He basically yelled, he was furious now.

"Zach..."

"First of all, he already said that he wouldn't do that to you. Secondly, he lives on base. There's no way I would go live in a small military house to get to know my father. Lastly, why do you think I would do that to you, huh? Do you think I would throw away _everything _that you've done for me in the past 17 years, just because I want to build a relationship with my dad?" He had tears streaming down his face.

"Zach..."

"That's an unfair assumption Mom and I don't know why you would even think I'd leave you like that."

Santana swallowed. She didn't say anything, she couldn't.

"I love you Mom. I can't even imagine what would have happened without you." His voice was soft and vulnerable again.

He closed the gap between him and his mom and engulfed her in a huge hug. The hugs that always reassured Santana that her son did in fact love her with every ounce of his heart.

"I-I l-love you too, Mijo.

* * *

Zach was studying in his room a few hours later. He had to take his mind off of everything. He was still kind of upset that his mom accused him of doing what Riley did to Brittany.

He was brought out of his thoughts by Brittany knocking on his door.

"Yeah?"

"Hey." She said softly.

"Hi."

"I just got your mom calmed down."

"I'm sorry."

"No, you had every right to be mad."

"I didn't have a right to yell at her."

"Well, don't tell her I told you this, but yeah you did."

"Why would she think I would do something like that to her?" He started to cry.

Like not a little bit, a lot a bit. Borderline ugly crying.

Brittany embraced him and held him for the first time. Whispering soothing words into the teenager's ear while rocking him back and forth. He held her when Riley was gone, but she's never held him. He only let Santana do that with him. This was breakthrough.

Brittany held him, comforted him, like he was her own.


	10. To Be A Family Again

Santana and Riley were kicking a soccer ball in the backyard the next day. Getting some bonding time in.

"So, we're going to Lima for Christmas?" Riley asked.

"Yeah, we'll be with your grandparents."

"Oh."

"What's wrong?"

"N-nothing. I just haven't really talked to them in a while. I kind of avoiding them at the wedding."

"Why?"

Riley shrugged.

"I was never close to them." The teenager said kicking the ball around Santana and kicking it into the bushes which has been their designated goal post for the better part of the last hour.

"Have you ever wanted to be?" Santana said receiving the ball that Riley just kicked to her.

Riley shrugged again.

"They never liked my dad. Every time we were there, there was always arguing."

"If it means anything, they loved me."

"Yeah that makes me feel so much better, Santana."

"I meant it like there won't be arguing this time."

"Oh, okay."

"Have you talked to your dad since..."

"No."

It was said harshly. Like it was still too fresh for her to think about.

"Okay."

They kicked the soccer ball around in silence for a few minutes.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you." Riley finally said.

"It's fine sweetheart. I get it. It's too soon to talk about."

"I guess I miss him a little already."

"Yeah?"

Santana was trying to be supportive and just listen to her stepdaughter vent.

"Yeah. I guess I've always been a Daddy's girl."

Riley was blushing.

"There's always Skype and stuff."

"Yeah, but it's too soon. I know my mom gets sensitive to that sort of stuff."

"She thought she wasn't good enough when you left."

"What? Why?"

"All of a sudden you wanted to go live with your dad? She felt like she wasn't good enough."

Santana by no mean was trying to make her feel guilty, but it was the truth.

_**Flashback**__(Almost a month earlier, three days after Riley left)_

Santana walked into her and Brittany's bedroom to find her wife already lying on the bed. One look at her face you could tell she had been crying.

"Baby," Santana instinctively was at her wife's back, calming her down.

"I'm never going to be good enough for her."

"For who, baby?"

"Riley."

Brittany turned in Santana's arms and cried into her chest. Santana held her wife and ran her fingers through her hair and down her back.

"That's not true baby."

Santana engulfed her wife in her arms.

"I-I-I j-just want-t her here."

"She'll be back, I promise."

"Please don't promise me stuff that isn't going to happen."

"Hey, hey. I love you."

"I love you too."

"Do you just want me to hold you?"

Brittany nodded her head.

"Okay, I'll do that then."

Santana held her wife in her arms while she comforted her, hoping that Riley would come to her senses soon.

_**Flashback Ended**_

Santana thought back to that evening. She thought back to how much emotional pain her wife was in.

"I didn't mean to cause drama," Riley began, "I j-just thought I was doing the right thing."

"We missed you."

"I know, I missed you guys too."

Santana pulled the teenager into a tight hug. Riley relaxed into Santana's embrace.

* * *

Zach was looking over a pier at Huntington Beach watching the waves crash into the shore. Brittany had gone off to the bathroom.

It was a Saturday, which would normally be Santana and Brittany's date day, but they thought spending time with each other's kid alone would do a little good. Brittany came back and watched the waves in silence.

"I'm sorry about yesterday." Zach said after a long while.

"Why are you apologizing?"

"I don't normally break down that easily."

"It's okay to be vulnerable from time to time."

"I guess."

She looked up at the teenager who was fighting back more tears.

"What's wrong?" She asked softly, wrapping her arm around his waist.

"N-nothing. It's nothing."

"Doesn't seem like nothing."

"I-it's stupid and y-you're just going to tell me that I'm w-wrong."

"Try me."

"She doesn't think I love her does she?"

"Who your mom?"

"Yeah."

"I think she knows, I just think she was having a moment yesterday."

Brittany thought back to the conversation that she had with her wife the night before and how Santana broke down with Brittany in her arms.

_**Flashback**__(The Night Before)_

Brittany walked into the master bathroom, she saw her wife sitting on the edge of the tub. Brittany pulled her wife into a tight embrace as Santana sobbed into her shoulder.

"Why am I such a fuck up?" She said between sobs.

"You're not a fuck up baby." The blonde said comforting her distraught wife.

"Then why did I just yell at my son for wanting to get to know his dad?"

"You thought he was going to leave you for him? Which would never happen, by the way. Your son is one of the most loyal people I've ever known."

Santana started to break down while Brittany embraced her closer. A few minutes later, Brittany started a bubble bath. Once it was ready she softly instructed her wife to get in.

Brittany brought out a bottle of wine and two wine glasses. She was determined to get her wife relaxed tonight. She poured two glasses of wine and lit a few candles followed by turning off a couple of lights. She took off her clothes and got in the tub where her wife was just sitting there.

Santana wrapped her arms around Brittany. Brittany knew that one way to calm her down was just to let Santana hold her. She felt Santana relax behind her.

"You're not a bad mom, baby." Brittany whispered after some silence.

"I feel like one right now."

"No, baby. You've raised him to be the strong, loyal individual that he is. You're not a bad mom."

"I love you, Britt."

"I love you too, San."

_**Flashback Ended**_

"She doesn't realize how amazing she is." Zach said bringing Brittany out of her thoughts.

Brittany smiled because she knew he was right. She wished Santana knew how amazing she is. Brittany wrapped her arm around Zach's lower back.

"How about we go to that diner all the way down the pier? You look a little hungry." Brittany said and Zach nodded while wrapping his arms around Brittany's shoulders as they walked down the pier.

* * *

Later on that evening, Brittany was sitting on the couch with Riley cuddling into her. Santana and Brittany had swapped places an hour prior. They were watching some movie on the tv screen. Riley looked up at her mom.

"What's up baby girl?"

"Is it true that you felt like you weren't good enough when I lived with my dad for that few weeks?"

Brittany looked down at her daughter and said, "Well, yeah. I missed you talking about anything and everything first thing in the morning that would confuse the hell out of Santana and Zach. I missed holding you. When you left, I felt like I wasn't good enough, especially after you came into my office."

"I-I'm s-sorry."

"Don't be. You're home now, right?"

"Y-yeah."

"Then that's all I care about baby girl."

"I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, baby girl."

Riley cuddled into her mom and continued watching the movie. Brittany ran her fingers through her daughter's hair. They enjoyed the mother/daughter moment.

* * *

Zach was sitting across from his mom at the diner he works at. He was on a twenty minute break. Santana had basically begged to go to work with him. She didn't care if she sat in a booth alone while she watched him work. He put on his best fake smile that looked real to everyone who didn't know him. He finally had asked the question that he really wanted to know.

"Why are you here?"

"I feel like a jerk about last night."

"Okay?" Zach said as if he didn't believe it.

"Look, it wasn't fair for me to make that assumption."

"Mhm." Zach didn't want to come off harsh, but he was having a hard time believing his mother right now.

"I just walked in and saw Britt and Riley cuddling on the couch and remembered how a week and a half ago my wife was crying because that same girl that was in her arms was gone. Then when I asked how your day was and you mentioned that you had coffee with your dad, I had a moment of fear. A moment of realization. I realized that your not a little boy anymore. You're starting to make your own decisions. I realized how much you've grown up."

"What's your point, Mom?" Zach said calmly.

"I had a freak-out moment. I'm sorry."

Zach took a deep breath and got up and sat next to his mom while wrapping his arm around her.

"It's okay. I just wish you realized how amazing you are."

"I'm _not _amazing."

"Yes, you are stop saying that you aren't."

Santana sunk into her son's embrace as they enjoyed each other's silence for the rest of Zach's break.

* * *

The next day, Santana, Brittany, Zach, and Riley all decided on a family day at home. They sat around the table for breakfast. Zach was the last to make it down. He came in wearing sweatpants and a Lincoln Prep Football sweatshirt.

"Morning mijo." Santana said with Brittany in her lap.

"Morning." He said making his way to the coffee pot to pour himself a cup of coffee.

Brittany got off Santana's lap and sat down at the table. The family had breakfast together. Watched a movie together. Followed about having lunch together. Followed by Zach, Riley, and Santana play video games together with Brittany in Santana's lap. They spent that day figuring out what it means to be a family together. It was a long shot, but the family of four were willing to be a family to one another.


	11. To Go To Lima Again

**A/N: **Hey guys! So funny story...this update was supposed to be to you guys last night, but crap came outta nowhere and I didn't get it finished until today. Sorry about that! The next update will probably be within the next few days. Also! I am now on tumblr. So if you have any questions or simply just wanna be nice and say hi, hit me up.

Enjoy!

* * *

Santana's eyes shot open, she looked over at Brittany who was asleep. She looked at the clock that read 5:49am. She technically had another minute or two to sleep, but she took the time to stare at her sleeping wife. She spooned her from behind, the alarm went off thirty seconds later. Santana turned it off and then softly turned to her wife.

"Baby," she softly sang, "it's time to get up."

"Five more minutes," Brittany mumbled.

"We have to be out of here in two hours."

"Okay."

"Okay, I'm going to go see if the kids are up yet."

Santana got out of bed and saw Riley's light on in her room. She knocked on the teenager's door.

"Ri?"

"Good morning Santana." The teenager chirped.

"God, how are you so chipper this early in the morning?"

"Because I've already been up, on a run, and showered already and I know that is annoys you."

"Okay, well Quinn is picking us up in two hours to take us to the airport."

"Okay." Riley sat down at her laptop and Santana went on a search for Zach.

She saw the light of the kitchen on downstairs and started there. There he was standing in his Lincoln Prep gym shorts and sweatshirt drinking a cup of coffee reading the Los Angeles Times leaned against the counter.

"Morning mijo."

"Morning Mom." Zach looked up from the paper, "Coffee?"

"I'd love some. Can you pour Brittany some too?"

"Yeah, sure."

Zach poured two cups of coffee and went back to reading the paper. Santana walked over to him and kissed his cheek.

* * *

Riley was sitting in her room staring at her computer. She and her boyfriend broke up two months ago and he had definitely moved on. She was caught up in the drama of missing her dad and moving in with him and moving back home to even process how she felt about the break up. Now, at 6:45 in the morning, the day before Christmas, she's looking at her Facebook news feed, wondering why she didn't fight for him.

Zach passed her room and saw her intently staring at her computer screen.

"Yo, Riley. Whatcha looking at?"

Riley looked up at Zach and then back down to her computer, Zach came around and saw her looking at picture of Isaiah and his new girlfriend.

"Oh. Why are you looking..."

"It showed up on my news feed and I got curious."

"I'm sorry."

"I should've fought for him."

"Could you have though?"

"I don't know."

"He was a jerk anyway."

"Yeah, kinda."

"You okay?"

Riley shrugged.

"I'm here if you ever need to talk."

"Thanks Zach."

"You bet. Now, where's your suitcase? My mom wants me to bring it downstairs."

"On the bed."

"Alright."

Riley smiled at how much of a big brother he is being to her. She only hoped he kept it up.

* * *

Santana and Brittany were making out heatedly on the couch when Quinn rang the doorbell. Zach answered the door.

"Hey Zach."

"Hey Aunt Quinn."

"Excited to go back to Lima for the holidays?"

"Not really."

"Yeah, I didn't think so either."

"I've only been back for sad stuff. Like my grandpa's funeral ten years ago and my grandma's funeral six years ago. I don't have any good memories in Lima."

"Maybe you can make good memories there this time."

"I'll try."

Quinn smiled.

"So where's Riley and the love birds?"

"Riley is upstairs packing her carry on bag and the love birds are going at it on the couch."

Quinn peaked her head around the corner and sure enough the make out session was still pretty heated.

"Do they always look like they're eating each other's faces like that?" Quinn asked.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"How do you two put up with it?"

"We've learned to ignore them."

Quinn chuckled as Riley came down the stairs.

"Hey Aunt Quinn."

"Hey sweetie."

"What are you two looking..."

Riley didn't finish her statement as she saw her mom lying on top of Santana making out heatedly.

"That." Quinn said.

Riley sighed.

"Mom! Santana!"

Brittany looked up to see the trio staring at them.

"Oh hi, Quinn."

"Q!" Santana says sitting up, "How long have you been here?"

"Long enough to see you basically eat Brittany's face off."

"Very funny." Santana shot back.

"Alright Lopez-Pierce family! You ready?"

"Umm..." Santana, Brittany, and Riley all said at once.

"What?" Quinn said,

The three of them were still in shock, so Zach answered for them.

"You just called us the Lopez-Pierce family."

"Yeah and?"

"Brittany's last name still is Evans."

"What? Why?"

"It's a sore subject Quinn." Brittany said softly after finally finding her words.

"Okay, let's just head off to the airport then." Quinn said.

* * *

The family of four were sitting at their gate at LAX, Santana hadn't really said anything since Quinn called them the Lopez-Pierce family.

"Baby," Brittany whispered into her ear.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

"What for, Mi Amor?"

"Not being a Lopez-Pierce like you wanted."

Santana shrugged, she looked off into the distance she saw Zach pacing back and forth on the phone probably with that girl he likes and then passed him was Riley watching planes take off and land while listening to music.

"It's okay, I get it." Santana finally answered, "You want your last name to still be Evans because of Riley. It's fine baby."

"No, it's not fine, if every time it's brought up you get tense about it." Brittany placed her hand on Santana's forearm.

"I mean, yeah, it hurts. But, there's nothing I can do about it."

"It hurts?"

"Baby, every time I look at the papers you're grading and I see _'Ms. Evans' _I think of all the time I wasted that I could've loved you. When you asked me what I thought of you and Sam getting married and I said it was cool because I didn't want to break you two up, it killed me inside to see you with him and now you're pretty adamant on keeping his last name. I get it, you were together for a long time, but I just feel like you don't love me as much as you loved him." She paused for a moment, "Wait, that sounded stupid and arrogant."

Brittany leaned in and kissed her wife.

"It's okay baby, I get it. Just give me a few days or so to think about it. Okay? It's not you, I promise."

"Okay," Santana said softly.

"It only makes it easier for Riley, you know?"

"I'm not following." Santana said.

"If I drop Evans that means she'll be the only Evans in the house."

"I'm still not following."

"It would crush her."

"Why?"

"I don't know, I just get this feeling that if I get rid of Evans, she'll be crushed." Brittany put her head on Santana's shoulder, "I get it though. You feeling like I don't love you as much as I did Sam."

"You do?"

"Yeah. I love you more than I could've ever loved Sam. Just let me think about it and talked to Riley first before I make a decision."

"Okay."

Just then their flight was called and they boarded the plane to Lima.

* * *

They landed in Lima. It was a long flight. They went to baggage claim to pick up their bag and then went to go get the rental car.

"You know for wanting us so badly, you'd think they'd come pick us up at the airport." Santana muttered under her breath.

Santana got the car and headed out to her family. They enjoyed the thirty minute ride from the airport to Brittany's parents house.

It was snowing in Lima and they weren't necessarily dressed for it being that it was in the 70s back home.

Santana pulled into the Pierce driveway. The four got out and got their bags and went inside. They were greeted by Michael and Vanessa, Brittany's parents, on their way in.

Santana and Brittany made their way up to Brittany's childhood room. 34 years old and it still looks the same to them. They put their suitcases down and then collapsed in the bed. Brittany instinctively cuddled back into Santana.

"It kinda feels good to be home." Brittany mumbled.

Santana chuckled.

"Yeah, it does."

They cuddled for about twenty minutes before they headed downstairs for dinner.

"So Zach," Vanessa said, "Brittany told us that you chose USC?"

"Yup."

"May we ask why?" Michael asked.

"It's closer to home, sir. So if there's a life or death issue, my mom and Brittany will be about 20 minutes away."

"You're going on a scholarship?" Michael asked.

"Yes, sir."

Zach shifted awkwardly in his seat as he cut the steak he was eating.

"Do you know what you'll be stud-" Vanessa tried to get out, but was cut off by Brittany.

"Okay, you two, stop interrogating the poor boy."

"Just trying to get to know your stepson Britty." Michael said.

Brittany put her hand on his thigh under the table to let him know that it's okay.

"Yeah, but the awkwardness that he's feeling right now is not necessary."

Zach stared at his plate for a minute before digging back in.

The rest of the dinner was quite with casual conversation between Santana and Michael to keep the silence at bay.

* * *

Later that night, Brittany found herself deep in Santana's arms. It was Christmas Eve and they were just lying in Brittany's childhood bed.

"You're beautiful," Santana whispered into her wife's ear, "you know that?"

Brittany chuckled.

"Yeah," she answered, "and _you're _amazing. You know that?"

"Why do you and Zach keep saying that. I'm _not _all that amazing."

"Because you are. Stop selling yourself short. You are amazing."

Santana took a deep breath.

"What's your reasoning for not thinking that you're amazing?" Brittany asked.

"I just know all of my not so amazing moments and my not so amazing thought process."

"Just because you don't always have the most amazing moment doesn't mean you aren't amazing."

Brittany left her wife's embrace and immediately straddled her wife's waist. She leaned forward and began kissing the brunette's neck.

"Britt, what are you-" she was cut off by the blonde's lips that crashed into hers.

"I'm about to show you how amazing you really are."

Brittany continued to attack her wife's neck. She kissed up and down her neck until she made her way back to her mouth.

The blonde soon stripped her wife of her shirt and got rid of her bra. She was quick to take one of Santana's breasts into her mouth. Santana arched her back as she ran her fingers through her wife's hair.

"That feels so good, baby." Santana said, satisfied.

Brittany gave each breast equal attention. She was bound to make her wife feel amazing as she really is. Once she was done, she trailed her kisses down her wife's stomach and undid her jeans and discarded them and her underwear.

Once her wife was naked, she didn't waste any time and dove right into the brunette's core.

"_F-fuck, Britt!" _Santana whispered, "Keep going, k-k-keep going."

Brittany came up and then kissed her way back up her wife's stomach as she place two of her fingers inside of her wife.

"I'm so close." Santana panted.

"Give it to me, baby." Brittany whispered into her wife ear, "Come on, let me have it."

"Oh god, I'm coming." Santana whisper shouted.

Brittany helped her wife down from her high. She then quickly got up and discarded her shirt and pants and then cuddled into her wife. Normally, their sexy times wouldn't be over until Santana returned the favor. But, that night, it was all about making Santana feel as amazing as she is. Santana kissed the top of Brittany's head as she tried to keep her eyes open, but a sweet slumber took over and all she could do is fall asleep with her wife in her arms.

* * *

**End Note: **So I know that sex scene was a little lame, but give me a little while and they'll get better.

Also! The whole last name bit that was talked about in this chapter is an ongoing storyline for the next few chapters. So hang in there, you'll like the outcome of it all.


	12. To Argue Again

**A/N: **So here's part one, part two should be up by the end of the weekend. No promises though. Got a lot going on this weekend. But I will try.

Remember, if you have any question or just wanna be nice and say hi. Hit me up on tumbler:

(guitarkiddodgerfan)

Enjoy! :)

* * *

Riley walked into her mom's office at Lincoln Prep during lunch. Her mom had texted her when she was getting her English textbook two hours earlier.

"Hi Mom."

She closed the door behind her and sat in front of her. Brittany looked up from her MacBook.

"Hey baby girl."

"What's up?"

"What do you mean?"

"You never text me to come into your office during lunch."

"What makes you think that I just don't want to have lunch with my baby girl?"

"Um, maybe because this has never happened before."

Brittany shrugged.

"I just wanted to have lunch with you."

"Okay, that'd work if I had food."

"Ah, here you go."

Brittany pulled out Riley's favorite lunch meal. A turkey sandwich, a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos, and a can of GingerAle.

"Wow. Thanks Mom."

They ate in a comfortable silence for a few minutes. Brittany took a deep breath and put the fork she had down.

"I do need to talk to you about something."

"Okay?"

"You remember how a few weeks ago, Aunt Quinn called us the Lopez-Pierce family?"

"Yeah. It kinda put Santana on edge for a while."

"Well that's what I want to talk to you about."

"Okay?"

"Santana feels that, because I didn't become a Lopez-Pierce that I don't love her as much as I did your dad."

"Okay?"

"We've been talking over the last few weeks about me changing my last name to either Lopez-Pierce or just Lopez."

"W-what? Why?"

"Because we're married and I don't want her to ever feel like how she's feeling right now."

"So what? Santana's feelings immediately over-power mine?"

"N-no. Baby girl..."

"Then explain this to me..."

"I'm married now and she feels like..."

"You've already explained that part." Riley stood up. "What you _haven't _explained to me is why you would just forget about everything that you had with my dad. Everything that we did as a _family_. What you _haven't_ explained to me is why you rather be a Lopez-Pierce or just Lopez. Why you would disown the last name of Evans because you finally get your chance with your high school lover." The teenager had tears in her eyes. "I don't understand why you would basically disown me."

Brittany stood up and walked towards her daughter and embraced her.

"I would _never _disown you, baby girl." Brittany whispered. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. I love you. I could never disown you."

Riley managed to leave her mother's embrace.

"Then don't change your last name."

"So that my wife could think that I'm still in love with my ex-husband?"

"I don't care."

"Baby girl..."

"Don't call me that right now."

"Riley..."

Brittany tried to embraced her again.

"No." She pushed her mom away from her. "Just don't."

Riley picked up her backpack and lunch and walked out of her mom's office. Brittany stood in the same shocked position.

* * *

Zach was sitting on the stands of the football field reading a book for his AP English class. It was the only quite place on campus and his coach always let him in the stadium. He then received a text from Riley:

_Riley Evans:_

_Where are you?_

_Sent: Friday, January 9__th__ 12:23pm_

He readjusted his glasses before replying:

_To Riley:_

_Football stadium._

_Sent: Friday, January 9__th__ 12:24pm_

Riley showed up ten minutes later.

"Hey Riley, what's up?"

"I just blew up at my mom."

"What, why?"

"It's so stupid. So selfish."

He embraced his stepsister.

"Talk to me."

His voice was soft. The softest that Riley has ever hard.

"She wants to change her last name to Lopez-Pierce or just Lopez."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

He rubbed circles on his stepsister's back. He's never attempted to comfort her and he only hopes he's doing a good job. They sat in an awkward silence for a few minutes until it was broken by Riley.

"Aren't you going to tell me that I'm being stupid and selfish?"

"Why would I do that? Because you're upset that your mom is changing her last name?" Riley subtly nodded. "Well, I hate to break it to you kid, you have every right to be upset right now."

"I do?"

"If _them_ saying _'I Do' _a couple months ago didn't make it official enough, your mom changing her last name definitely will."

Riley cried into Zach's chest and he just comforted her as best as he could.

* * *

After school, Zach headed to Brittany's office. He took a deep breath before knocking on her door.

"Come in."

He opened the door to see his stepmom behind her MacBook and a bunch of papers.

"Hey Zach."

"Hey Ms. Evans."

They were still on campus, but he didn't really know what to call her since they were alone.

"What's up? You have a question about the essay prompt?"

Zach chuckled. He only wished he had a question about the essay prompt.

"Actually I had a question about why I had to calm down my distraught stepsister at lunch today."

He never raises his eyebrows at Brittany, but he just did.

"She told you?"

"Yeah."

"Look Zach, I'm sorry, but..."

"It's okay. I get it. You want to keep your promise to me that you'll never make my mom feel like a failure or less of herself. I appreciate that. But, I'd like to not have to comfort Riley because she's upset. You've been married since September, it's January. Why the change now?"

Brittany thought about it for a minute.

"I need to make your mom feel loved. I don't like seeing her so, well, not."

"You know, your daughter thinks that _she _did something wrong right?"

"She does?"

"Yeah, why do you think she making such a big deal about it?"

Brittany sighed.

"Look," Zach began, "I don't care. Become a Lopez-Pierce or a Lopez. That's great, wonderful. But realize that your daughter, needs you to love her. Needs you to be there for her."

Brittany was almost in tears. Zach felt bad, so he walked over to her an embraced her. She fell into the comfort of his embrace.

"I didn't mean to come off harsh, but seriously Britt, she needs to know if you do change your last name that you still love her."

Brittany nodded into his chest. He was right and she knew he was right.

"Okay."

Brittany buried her face into her stepson's chest.

"We still on for our mother/son like date tonight?"

He whispered it so softly that it made Brittany grin into his chest.

"Of course."

They stood there for a while. It eased Brittany just a little bit.

* * *

"Why didn't you call me?"

Santana said above a whisper that night when the two were lying in bed talking about each other's day. Brittany had just told her about Riley's blow up.

"I didn't want you to feel like you had to come from work to calm me down."

"Baby, you know I'd do anything for you."

"I know that's why I've waited to tell you. I didn't want you leaving work."

"I'm my own boss, baby."

"I know, but if you were to come to campus things probably would've escalated."

Santana sighed.

"I love you Britt-Britt."

"I love you too, San."

Brittany instinctively cuddled into Santana as the both drifted off into a deep sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Brittany woke up to an empty bed. She slightly pouted as she got up. She walked downstairs and overheard Santana talking to Zach.

"So, what are your plans today mijo?"

"My dad said that he wanted to hang out."

"Oh..."

Matthew hadn't been brought up since Santana apologized for assuming that he would leave her for him.

"It was a last minute deal."

Zach shrugged.

"I'm fine with you seeing him mijo."

"Are you sure? Because the last time he came into conversation you got all super self-conscious and felt that I was going to move onto a military base to get to know him better."

"I was having a moment, if I remember correctly, I was emotional because my period started the next day."

"It's cool, Mom. Don't worry."

"I love you mijo and I don't know what I would do without you."

"I love you too, Mom."

Brittany walked in and smiled at the mother/son duo hugging in the kitchen.

"Morning Brittany."

Zach smiled at her while taking a sip of his coffee.

"Morning Zach."

"Morning baby."

Santana came from behind Brittany and held her from behind.

"Morning love."

Riley came downstairs a few minutes later. She and Brittany hadn't talked since their argument in Brittany's office.

"Morning Ri."

Santana was going to cut the awkwardness with a knife basically. Riley gave her stepmom a head acknowledgement.

Brittany had some papers to grade and headed to her home office after kissing Santana's cheek. Zach went upstairs to get ready for the day with his dad. Leaving Santana and Riley in the kitchen alone together.

It wasn't too awkward, but it was awkward enough for Santana to want to cease the silence.

"Sleep well?"

"Yeah, yeah. I guess."

A few seconds go by.

"Look Ri, your mom told me about yesterday."

Riley sighed.

"I get why you would be crushed by this," Santana continued. "I do, but it's not about that anymore. You're mom changed her last name from Pierce to Evans when she married your dad. Why should it be any different now? Just because I'm a woman? You know if your mom married another guy she would've changed her last name anyway, right?"

"But she would keep Evans in her name for my sake. I have a friend who's mom does that. She kept her ex-husband's last name for her and her brother's sake. My mom is just going to drop Evans like she was never married to my dad. I get it, Santana. You feel inferior to my dad." Riley had tears in her eyes. "You feel like my mom will _never _love you as much as she loved him. But forgive me for wanting to hold onto what I had left in common with my mom. Forgive me for being _so _stupid and _so _selfish."

Riley tried to leave the room, but Santana grabbed her wrists and pull her into a hug. Riley broke down again.

"You're not stupid, Riley."

Riley started to cry harder. The stepmom/stepdaughter duo stood in the kitchen swaying back and forth.

* * *

Brittany was cuddled into Santana later on that afternoon. Santana was stroking her fingers through her wife's hair.

"Sorry I called her out like that."

Santana felt bad.

"Well, it may get her to think."

Brittany shrugged.

"Have I mentioned how much I love you?"

"Yeah. I love you too."

Brittany buried her face into Santana's chest.

Riley came in a few minutes later. She sat on the couch across from her mom and Santana.

"What's up baby girl?"

Brittany gave her daughter a soft warm smile.

"I-I'm sorry. This whole you being remarried thing, is still _so _new to me. I keep having these freak-out moments."

"It's okay baby girl."

"No, it's not."

Riley had tears in her eyes.

"Ri, you know we love you, right?"

Riley gave them a subtle nod. Brittany got up and sat on the other side of her daughter, she lifted her daughter's head.

"And you know that it's never going to change, no matter what my last name is, right?"

Riley gave her a subtle nod again.

"Then are you okay with it now?"

"Y-yeah."

"What if, I kept Evans, for _your _sake, but I don't go by it?"

Riley shrugged.

"It's your decision Mom."

Brittany pull her daughter into her embrace and slightly rocked them back and forth.

"I love you baby girl."

"I love you too, Mom."

Brittany kissed her daughter's head and just held her daughter, that she loved, oh so dear.


	13. To Make It Official Again

**A/N: **Hey readers! So I know Riley came off really selfish in the last chapter. She even admitted it herself. It's going to get better from here. I promise. Sooo here's the final part to the last name piece. After this chapter, a different kind of storyline starts!

And if you wanna hit me up on tumblr. Feel free:  
(guitarkiddodgerfan)

Enjoy!

* * *

Brittany was sitting on Santana's lap a few days later, they were sitting in Santana's office at her studio. Brittany had stopped by after work because Santana had mentioned that it was going to be a late night for her to get one of her client's albums done.

Brittany had brought her dinner.

"Britt-Britt," she whispered, "you didn't have to do this."

"Of course, I wanted to."

Santana tighten her arms around Brittany's waist and kissed her neck softly.

"I'm going to try to be home around 1. We're almost done."

"Okay. I love you."

"I love you too. Eat with me?"

"Then I won't eat with the kids."

"Zach's working tonight and Riley hasn't been eating much lately anyway."

Brittany sighed.

"What's wrong Mi Amor?"

"The fact that Riley hasn't been eating much lately. I-it's bothering me a bit."

"Britt, she's processing..."

"I know, I know."

"Speaking of that, we haven't talked about in a few days."

"What's there to talk about? I'm changing my last name."

Brittany ended her statement with a shrug.

"I know, but am I changing my last name too? Are we going to be the Lopez-Pierce family or the Lopez family? Or hell, are we going to be the Pierce family?"

"I kind of like just Lopez."

Brittany shrugged again.

"Brittany Lopez?"

There was a smile on Santana's face that basically split it in half.

Brittany chuckled.

"Yeah. Sound good?"

"Hell yeah, it does.

Santana leaned forward to give her wife a passionate kiss.

* * *

Riley was sitting in her best friend, Taylor's bedroom. They were just hanging out, listening to music while doing homework.

It had been a comfortable silence for a while. Then it was too quite for Taylor's liking.

"Hey Ri?"

"Yeah?"

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You're quiet. Maybe too quiet."

"Sorry. Just a lot on my mind."

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

Riley shrugged.

"I'm just being selfish and stupid."

"What do you mean?"

Riley sighed, she knew her best friend would sort of understand her pain.

"You know how when your mom got remarried, she kept your dad's last name for your and Austin's sake?"

"Yeah, that and because she didn't feel like reordering her business cards."

Taylor was trying to make light of the situation because she had a feeling of where this was going. It worked because Riley chuckled lightly.

"Well, my mom is just dropping Evans like our family never existed. Well, she _says _she's going to keep it, but not go by it. Why would you keep a name that you don't go by? Who does that?"

Taylor moved over and put her arm around her best friend.

"I'm just being selfish and stupid." Riley continued. "I-I just miss the relationship I had with her before she and Santana got married. When they were just dating. It wasn't as overwhelming."

Taylor comforted her friend. Riley buried her face in her best friend's chest.

"It's going to be okay."

Taylor's voice was soft. She's not used to comforting her best friend. She normally is well-put together. Never really showed any emotion.

The best friend duo sat there in silence. Taylor comforted Riley and Riley just cried.

"As much as it's selfish," Taylor said in the silence, "I know it's hard for you. I know it feels like a total disconnect from your mom. But, think of Santana. Think of how it might have been holding back their marriage. Why is she changing her name now? Why didn't she change it in September when she got married?"

"I had a major freak-out sesh when she brought it up before the wedding."

"Why?"

"I j-just wanted my f-folks back together. I-it's stupid I know."

"Would you _stop _saying that you're stupid? Because you're not."

Riley looked deep into Taylor's eyes. They've never looked at each other this way. And they both knew it. Riley shook it off and went back to her Algebra homework and Taylor went back to her Calculus homework in a relative silence.

* * *

Zach was serving his last customer when Brittany walked in.

"Hey Brittany."

"Hey Zach."

"What's up?"

He cocked his head a little.

"Your mom's in the studio. Riley's at Taylor's house. And you're here and I thought about how much I loved the hot chocolate you guys got here."

She flashed that smile that made Zach smile as well.

"I'm on it. Whipped cream?"

"Yes, please."

Zach got his stepmom a cup of hot chocolate as she slid into a booth. He brought it over to his stepmom and sat across from her. It had been a little awkward between the two since he confronted her in her office about Riley and he knew he over stepped his bounds.

"Look Brittany," he finally broke the silence, "I'm sorry. More sorry than I've ever been. I should've never came and talked to you in your office. I was in the wrong. I just..."

He stopped. He didn't necessarily know why. Brittany was waiting for him to finish. When he was silent for a little longer than Brittany's liking, she got up and sat next to him.

"It's okay." Brittany wrapped her arms around him. "I get it. You're protective. You saw her hurt and you wanted to do something about it. But, promise me something, babe." Zach nodded. "Promise me that you won't do it again." He nodded again. "I love you Zach. Like if you were my own. I just don't understand why you have to be so damn protective."

"I don't understand either, Brittany."

He sat there in Brittany's embrace. He was fully aware that his coworkers were around and that he needed to go check his last table of the night, but sitting in Brittany's embrace felt so much better. So much more refreshing.

* * *

Santana got home around 1:00am. Brittany was already in bed, but she saw the tv screen lighting the family room. She walked in and saw Riley fast asleep on the couch.

"Ri. Sweetie, wake up."

"Ugh, what do you want?"

"Your bed is probably much more comfortable than this couch."

"Ugh. Go. Away."

Riley, in her half-asleep state, rolled over and off the couch. She was awake now.

"See? This is why you should sleep in your own bed."

"Yeah, you're so smart, Santana"

Riley was still somewhat half-asleep and mumbling. Santana pulled her into an embrace anyway.

"What's going on with you?"

"Nothing, why?"

"You haven't been eating much. And your mom is worried about you."

"She's always _fucking _worried about me."

"Well, give her something in your life _not_ to worry about."

"I'm going to bed."

She tries to leave Santana's embrace, but Santana won't let her.

"Talk to me."

"It's one in the morning."

"I don't care. Talk to me."

"What do you want Santana?"

"I want to know what's going on in that pretty little head of yours?"

"You don't want to know."

"Yes. I do."

"There's way too much."

"I'm here. I still want to build to that relationship."

"I don't know where to begin."

Santana sat the two of them down and wrapped her arms around her, rocking them back and forth.

"I can't even express how sorry I am."

Riley's voice was soft, vulnerable.

"What do you mean sweetie?"

"I-I'm sorry for making a huge deal out of nothing."

"It's okay."

Santana was running her fingers through the teenager's hair, just like she would do Brittany.

The duo sat there until they both fell asleep on the couch, Santana fell asleep with Riley in her arms.

* * *

Brittany woke up the next morning and walked downstairs to see her wife and her daughter cuddling on the couch. She smiles when she sees it.

"Baby." Brittany slightly shook her wife.

"Mmm. What? Mmm."

Brittany was in love with her wife's husky sleep voice.

"Sweetheart, you should get up."

Santana's eyes slowly opened.

"Hey love."

Brittany was running hand down her wife's arm.

"Hey Mi Amor."

Santana still had her husky sleep voice.

"You didn't do anything to sleep on the couch."

Brittany had a small smile on her face.

"I was talking with Riley when I came in and she was close to tears and I was comforting her."

"Remember how after you proposed to me, you thought you were going to be a bad stepmom?" Santana subtly nodded. "Well, you just proved that thought wrong."

Santana flashed a small, vulnerable smile.

"I love you, babe."

Brittany leaned in and kissed her wife causing the brunette to moan.

"I love you too, Britt-Britt."


	14. To Love Again

**A/N: **Hey readers! Here's another chapter. Honoring Valentine's day. Not too sure if I'm a fan of it or not. Mainly because I'm not a fan of Valentine's day! But whatevz.

Anyway, hope you enjoy!

* * *

Riley's eyes woke up one Sunday morning. It was Valentine's day. One of the stupidest 'holidays' there could ever be, in her opinion. In her mind it was just a day for Hallmark and companies that sell chocolate to hike up the prices just so men could make their partner feel special. It didn't help that it was also Riley's birthday.

Riley walked downstairs, she hasn't been chipper in the mornings since before she moved in with her dad for that month. Breakfast wasn't full of useless, random facts anymore.

"Gooood morning Birthday Girl."

Brittany decided that this morning she was going to go all out on the chipperness.

Riley, however, groaned before she muttered.

"Too early Mom. Too damn early."

"It's ten o'clock."

Santana was reading the Los Angeles Times over some coffee.

"I don't care."

Riley was mumbling again.

"Here you go..."

Brittany presented her daughter with the traditional birthday breakfast: waffles, eggs, hashbrowns, sausage, and a hot cup of coffee.

"Thanks."

She was still mumbling. She still hadn't made eye contact with her mom or Santana. The kitchen was silent other than Santana turning the pages of the newspaper until Zach came down rushing out the door.

"Where you going mijo?"

Santana didn't even look up from her paper. He walked back into the kitchen looked down at his work uniform and looked back at his mom.

"Work."

"Okay. How long are you working?"

"9-3. Then I'm taking Ashleigh out for dinner."

Two weeks ago, Zach came in all excited because he finally had the courage to ask out a girl he'd been crushing on since early high school.

"Okay, see you later mijo."

Silence fell on the three women sitting in the kitchen.

"Do you two have plans tonight?"

Riley mumbled again.

"Yeah. I'm surprising your mom tonight."

Santana smiled as she put down the newspaper and Brittany just rolled her eyes.

"You hate surprises though."

Riley looked up at her mom.

"Yeah, that's only because your dad's surprises were lame."

"Just tell us how you really feel Mom."

Brittany chuckled.

"Is it okay if Taylor comes over to hang out tonight? I was just going to order pizza or something and we were going to watch the soccer game on ESPN."

The teenager's voice was soft, almost a whisper.

"Sure, baby girl. Need me to leave money?"

"If you can that'd be great."

"I'll be sure to leave money for you baby girl."

"Thanks."

It was mumbled again, but it was the most that Brittany had gotten out of her daughter in weeks. It's almost like she had shut down. She knew it had nothing to do with the fact that her last name was Lopez now instead of Evans. But it was different and Brittany didn't know if she liked it or not.

* * *

Zach had made it home around 3:30 and was getting ready for his date. He was extra nervous, he'd gone on dates before. To like homecoming and last year to his junior prom. But those were dances, this was a real date. A date that he never thought was possible.

He had it all planned, dinner overlooking the Pacific Ocean and a movie. Nothing too fancy. Although, he did look like it was going to be a fancy night out.

Black dress slacks, a navy blue dress shirt, and a pair of black loafers.

Santana walked into her son's room, she saw him cleaning his glasses.

"Damn mijo, you look good."

He didn't blush often and didn't necessarily know why he was blushing now.

"Thanks Mom."

"You excited?"

"More than I've ever been in a long time."

"Good. So what's the plan?"

"5:30 dinner over looking the Pacific and a 7:15 movie to get us both home in time for curfew."

"Sounds like a nice night out."

"Yeah, what about you and Brittany?"

"I'm surprising her."

"I thought she hated surprises?"

"She hates Sam's surprises because they were lame."

Zach chuckled.

"Well I look forward to you blowing up my Twitter feed with pictures of your surprise Valentine's day date with the wifey."

Santana chuckled.

"Wait, _you _follow me on Twitter?"

Zach was laughing.

"You know you have a lot of followers when you don't realize that your own child is following you on Twitter. Yes Mom, I'm following you on Twitter."

Santana chuckled again.

"Well, it's five o'clock." Zach took a deep breath. "I better head out."

"Have a great time mijo. I love you."

"I love you too, Mom."

Santana pulled her son into a hug before he walked downstairs and out to his car for his date.

* * *

"Okay, baby. I get you want to surprise me, but could you at least tell me what I should wear?"

Brittany was standing in front of their closet dumbfounded at what she should wear. Her wife was standing her ground and not telling her what their date was.

"Dress comfortably, babe."

"So jeans and a nice shirt would work?"

"Yeah."

Santana walked over to her wife and wrapped her in her arms. Brittany hummed in response.

"Baby, I love you and I love it when you hold me, but I'm never going to get ready if you keep holding me."

"I know."

Santana detached from her wife and sat on the bed. Brittany got ready and then came and sat on Santana's lap.

"You ready?"

Santana kissed her wife's forehead.

"Yeah."

"Good. Ready for a beautiful Valentine's day date?"

"Yes."

"Then let's go, my love."

Santana put her arm out for Brittany to take. Brittany took her wife's arm and was led out to Santana's car.

* * *

Riley was sitting on the couch when Taylor rang the door bell. She got up and answered the door.

"Hello Riley."

"Hey Taylor."

Taylor walked in and hug her best friend.

"Pizza is on its way."

Riley led her best friend into the living room.

"Okay, cool. How much do I owe you?"

"What?"

"For buying pizza."

"Well, technically my mom bought it. And you know she never lets you repay her."

"Which I don't get why."

"It would be like taking money from her own child. You know my mom thinks of you as one of her daughters right?"

"Oh."

The duo just looked at each other. Similar to how the look at each other in Taylor's bedroom when Taylor was comforting Riley. It freaked them both out on the inside so they both looked away.

"Yeah, anyway." Riley was quick to break the silence. "The game is on now."

"Cool."

The two girls sat there silence watching the game.

* * *

Santana was leading Brittany into a small diner across town. Normally she would wonder why her wife decided to take her to a diner for Valentine's day, but this diner was special to the couple. It was the place where Santana proposed to her, it was also the place where the couple shared their first date.

"Baby." The blonde breathed out to her wife. Noticing that her wife rented out the entire diner.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Mi Amor."

"You..."

"Yeah, I rented out the entire diner, so we wouldn't be bothered. Although, it's pretty slow on Valentine's day evening anyway. I figure we can eat and then dance a little."

"I love you."

Brittany pulled her wife into a deep, passionate kiss.

"I love you too. Now let's eat."

The couple sat and enjoyed a quiet evening. They ate, talked, dance, and talk some more. It sort of reminded them of their first date.

"Why did you rent this place out baby?"

Brittany grabbed her wife's hand from across the table.

Santana shrugged.

"Because you've dealt with a lot in the last few months and I feel kind of awful for that. I wanted tonight to make you feel like you're the only woman in the world."

Brittany withdrew her hand from her wife's and looked down. Santana seeing this immediately came around to her wife.

"Baby, look at me."

Brittany looked up at her wife.

"I don't know what you're thinking right now. I don't know what you're feeling right now. But, you deserve this. I love you."

"I love you too."

The blonde's voice was soft, somewhat vulnerable. Santana took her wife's hand and let her back to where they were dancing as one of her client's songs came on and was playing through the diner. The couple swayed back and forth while they kissed each other slowly and enjoyed each others company.

* * *

Zach and Ashleigh were sitting in the movie theater watching the movie. Zach had his arm around Ashleigh. It had been a really good date and they had some comedy movie in front of them to keep them laughing.

After the movie ended, they were walking out hand-in-hand to the car.

"Thanks for a great night, Zach."

"Thanks for coming with me."

"I never realized how much you liked me until tonight."

"What do you mean?"

"You always had this wall around you. Like no one could touch you. You always took a cheerleader to homecoming or prom last year. Didn't think you'd like someone like me."

"What do you mean 'someone like you'?"

"In Ms. Ev- I mean, Mrs. Lopez's class you always hid in the back of the classroom. I always wondered how you got into AP classes when it looked like you weren't comprehending any of the material. Then I thought that you were passing the class because she's now your stepmom. I didn't realize how much you cared until football season was over. I don't know, I'm just _not _a cheerleader and I thought that since you played football, that's what you're into. I guess it's more or less a stereotype than a fact."

Ashleigh readjusted her glasses before shrugging.

"Ash, I've had a crush on you since freshmen year. I just didn't act upon it because I didn't think you liked athletes. Jocks. People who play sports. Someone like me."

"You were always my impossible crush."

"What does that mean?"

"A crush that I knew would never come true. I mean I know they're stereotypes, but you're a jock, I'm a nerd. Why would someone like _you _like someone like _me_?"

"Because as much as I come off to be stereotypical jock, I can't stand cheerleaders, I can't stand the _'Star of the Varsity Football Team' _stereotype. I mean, come on, I was raised by Santana Lopez. A woman, a frickin famous music producer, who fell in love with our AP English teacher, not caring that she was another woman. I was raised to believe that stereotypes are _nothing _and that when you fall in love with a person, that's all that should matter. You and that person. What everyone else thinks shouldn't matter."

"You're so different."

"I know."

Zach smiled a charming smile as he opened the passenger side door for his girlfriend.

* * *

"You could've made that!"

Riley was yelling at the television as she and Taylor were finishing up the pizza.

"Ri, it's just a game."

"I know, but if they were more tactful he could've made that!"

Riley was getting work up for no reason. Since they both were sitting on the floor, Taylor moved up to the couch, sat behind Riley, and started to massage her shoulders. It wasn't the first time. Riley leaned back and relaxed.

There had been an awkwardness between the two best friends and Taylor was determined tonight to break the awkwardness.

"Hey Ri?"

"Yeah Tay?"

Taylor took a deep breath before continuing.

"There's been awkwardness between us lately."

"Yeah, there has."

"Do you know why?"

"I don't know. Maybe because every time I look into your eyes, I get lost and I've never felt this way with anyone before. Not even Isaiah."

"D-do you have weird feeling for me like I do for you?"

"Y-yeah."

"Then why have we let the awkwardness go on then?"

"Because I'm scared."

"Scared of what Ri?"

"I'm scared of getting too close. I'm scared of falling in love too fast. I'm scared of trusting too much. I'm scared of expecting too much from you. I'm scared of what people will say behind our backs. I'm scared fucking things up. I'm scared of pushing you away."

Taylor stopped massaging and sat down next to Riley.

"Do you think you would want to talk to somebody? Maybe your mom and Santana?"

"I guess, but I don't know about talking to them tonight. They looked like they were on _Cloud Nine _when they walked in a few minutes ago."

"And that's okay. My mom thinks I'm spending the night here anyway. We'll talk to them in the morning."

"Okay."

"You at least want to cuddle right now?"

Riley nodded.

Taylor wrapped her arms around Riley and they sat and watched the rest of the game in a comfortable silence.

"_Probably the best birthday ever." _Riley thought as she snuggled closer into Taylor.

* * *

**End Note:** There you go! Feel free to hit me up on tumblr.

(guitarkiddodgerfan)


	15. To Feel Those Feelings Again

Riley woke up in Taylor's arms the next morning. She knew she was going to have to face her mom and Santana this morning. It was like President's day or whatever and everyone in the house had the day off.

"Good morning Ri."

"Mmm. Morning Tay. How long have you been awake?"

"About a half an hour. I smell coffee."

"Let's get up. Zach said he had an early morning shift this morning, so it's just going to be the four of us."

"Okay, let's get up."

The two teenagers walked into the kitchen to see Santana pressed up against the counter with her hands on Brittany's ass as Brittany kissed her up her neck. Riley cleared her throat.

"Morning girls."

Santana pushed Brittany back slightly.

"Morning."

The two teenagers looked at each other, Taylor nodded.

"Hey, Mom, Santana, can we talk to you two about something?"

"Of course."

It was in unison as Santana guided her wife to the kitchen table. The four sat down and for the first few minutes it was silent while the teenagers figured out what they were going to say. Finally Riley found the courage and the words.

"I'm not going to sugarcoat it, I'm just going to say it."

"Okay."

Santana placed her arm around Brittany.

"Taylor and I are having these feelings for each other that feel like more than just best friends."

"Okay?"

"We want to talk it out, I guess." Riley looked over at Taylor. "We figured that you two would be good to talk to."

"Okay, what was it that you need to talk out with us?"

Brittany was confused. She saw this coming for a long time. The two teenagers were always closer than best friends.

Riley looked over at Taylor. She smiled at Riley encouraging her to tell her mom and Santana what she told her last night.

"I'm scared. I'm scared of getting too close. I'm scared of falling in love too fast. I'm scared of trusting too much. I'm scared of expecting too much from her. I'm scared of what people will say behind our backs. I'm scared _fucking_ things up. I'm scared of pushing her away."

And it all clicked for Brittany, for the last several weeks she hadn't been very communicative not because she was mad her for changing her last name. She was processing how she felt for her best friend.

Santana knew how her stepdaughter felt. Maybe a little too well. She dealt with the same thing in high school, but tried to push it down like it was no big deal. She was in love with her best friend, Brittany Pierce, but was in a serious relationship with Matthew Taylor and Brittany was in a serious relationship with Sam Evans. It was never going to work. She knew the scared feeling that her stepdaughter was feeling. She extended her hand across the table for Riley to take.

"I know how you feel." Santana looked over at Brittany before continuing. "I felt the same way about your mom in high school. I just chose not to do anything about it. And that's kind of how Zach was conceived. I spent all of high school convincing myself that loving her wasn't going to do me any good. She would never love me the way I love her."

"W-what changed?"

It was the first time that Taylor spoke in the conversation and she was genuinely curious.

"What do you mean?"

Santana placed her hand on her wife's thigh looking at their collapsed hands.

"I m-mean you two are happily married now."

Santana looked up at Taylor seriously.

"I was done being lonely. I was done loving her from a distance. I was done not living my life with her. I was done being scared."

Riley looked up at her stepmom it was the first time she admitted the way she really felt. Why she really got together with her mom.

"Well," Taylor cut the silence with a knife, looking at Riley, "I'm done being lonely. I'm done loving you from a distance. I'm done with this awkwardness. I'm done being scared. I'm willing to take a risk with you, Ri. I love you more than anything else in the world. Please, please say you love me back. Please?"

"I do love you, but I'm afraid."

"What are you afraid of baby girl?"

Riley looked over at her mom.

"I'm afraid of fucking things up."

"I was afraid to let Santana in."

Santana's head popped up.

"You were?"

It was in unison from both Riley and Santana.

Brittany felt her wife tense, she eased it by placing her hand on her thigh.

"You know how it was a little awkward at Christmas time with Nana and Papa?"

"Yeah, I just thought it was because Zach was being awkward."

Riley was now confused. Hell, so was Santana in that moment.

"Well, it's because they always saw Santana as my best friend. Not my wife. They always told me that the phase I was going through was getting old. That I should be with your dad. I ignored them though. It's why they showed up the day of our wedding a left that night. They love Santana, but not as their daughter-in-law."

Riley and Santana were speechless. They didn't know what to say or how to say what they thought they could. Taylor took this opportunity to reassure Riley.

"My folks won't think that. They actually think we've been dating since you and Isaiah broke up."

Taylor took Riley's hand in her own.

"And we'll support you no matter what baby girl."

"Thanks Mom."

"You two good now?"

Brittany didn't want to cut the conversation short, but she now feels the need to comfort her wife.

"Yeah, we're going to go upstairs."

"Okay."

The two teenagers went upstairs and Brittany looked over at her wife.

"Baby."

Brittany grabbed her hand. Santana looked up and offered a small smile.

"They _fucking _lied to me."

"What?"

"I asked them for their blessing before I proposed to you. And they said that they were okay with it. They _fucking _lied to me."

"Hey, hey, shh. Shh it's okay."

Brittany had scooped her wife into her arms.

"They _fucking _lied to me."

"It's okay. It's okay."

"No it's _not _okay, Britt. They lied to me."

"Would you have proposed even if they said no?"

Santana shrugged.

"I don't know. I mean _maybe._"

"I love you. Hell, I love you so much that I don't know where my life would be without you. Baby, so maybe they lied to you." Brittany brought Santana's face up. "But, that doesn't make me love you any less. It kinda makes me love you more and I didn't think that was possible. I love you so much that it hurts."

Santana let a tear fall as Brittany tightened her grip around the brunette. The couple sat there in silence while Brittany rocked them back and forth.

* * *

Riley and Taylor were cuddling on Riley's bed.

"How are you feeling now? After that talk with your mom and Santana?"

Taylor put her chin on the top of Riley's head.

"Better. I'm still scared, but not enough _not _to be with you."

"I'm still a little scared. So I guess we can be scared together."

Riley looked back at Taylor and they got lost in each others eyes again.

"Tay.."

Taylor leaned in and kissed Riley for the first time. The kissing picked up as they were on their sides making out. Taylor pulled Riley on top of her. After a while, they pulled away.

"Does this make you my girlfriend now?"

Riley cuddled back into Taylor.

"Do you want it to mean that?"

Taylor absentmindedly played with Riley's hair.

"Yeah."

Taylor chuckled.

"Then yes, Ri. It makes me your girlfriend now."

The two kissed again and cuddled until the early evening.

* * *

Brittany cuddled into Santana on the couch as they watched some marathon of a show they've never seen on tv. Brittany looked up lovingly at her wife.

"What baby?"

Santana didn't take her eyes off of the television set.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Perfect actually."

"Baby, don't lie to me."

Santana shrugged.

"What do you want me to say Britt? I'm still a little hurt. I just want to cuddle."

"Why are you shutting me out?"

"I'm not..."

"You are. Like big time, come on baby, we don't do this."

"I don't know what to say right now Britt. I don't know what to feel."

"You're growing on them, baby. They'll come around eventually."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"What was I supposed to say? _'Hey baby, I'm so in love with you it actually fucking hurts, but my family thinks I should still be with Sam and you should just be my childhood best friend?' _Baby, I couldn't do that to you. Not after everything."

"You don't have to protect me, you know? I'm strong enough."

"I know. But, I feel like I should. Forgive me?"

"Yeah."

Santana lied back on the couch and pulled Brittany on top of her and they began to make out on the couch. Santana had her hands on Brittany's ass.

They were making out pretty heatedly when they heard the front door slam shut. Brittany pulled away, but still lied on top of Santana. The two were cuddling now.

Zach walked in and sat on the couch across from them leaning back watching whatever they were watching.

"Hey mijo."

A head acknowledgement is all they got.

"Everything okay over there kid?"

Brittany was soft about it, but was blunt.

"Yeah, why?"

"You never just come in and watch tv with us."

"Just a long day with rude customers."

"Sorry to hear that."

Brittany got off of Santana and walked over and sat next to Zach. He put his head on her shoulder. Brittany, who was surprised with this action, put her head on his head, wrapped her arm around his lower back, looked over at Santana, and smiled. Santana smiled back at her wife for comforting her son. In that moment, Santana knew she made the right choice in marrying Brittany.


	16. To Feel On Top Of The World Again

**A/N: **Sooo this was supposed to be up a few days ago...buuuut life got in the way. So here you go, enjoy!

* * *

A few weeks later, Santana found herself rubbing her temples in her office at her studio. It was around lunch time, and her phone rang. It was her assistant Sarah.

"Yeah?"

"_I have your wife on hold."_

A small smile came onto Santana's face.

"Put her through, please."

_"Will do."_

"Thanks Sarah."

A few seconds later, her phone rang again. Santana answered it with a smile on her face.

"Hey beautiful."

"_Hey baby."_

"How's your day going?"

"_Pretty good. Slow. Missing you."_

Santana had spent another night at the studio to get another one of her client's albums done.

"I miss you too, baby. So much. I'll be home before you get home."

"_You'll be asleep though, right?"_

"Most likely, yes."

"_Well, I'm just going to have to come cuddle with you then."_

Santana could tell that Brittany was smiling.

"Yeah?"

Santana was now smiling.

"_Yeah, it wasn't the same without being in your arms last night."_

"Trust me baby, I know.

"_I love you."_

"I love you too."

"_So what are you doing?"_

"Trying to get rid of the massive killer headache I have."

"_Oh baby. I wish I could be there to help. Have you taken anything for it?"_

"Yeah. Waiting for it to kick in. Still have some stuff to sign."

"_Should I let you go?"_

"No, I've missed your voice. This makes me feel like I'm spending your lunch break with you."

Brittany softly chuckled.

"_Okay then, so tell me, how was the all night recording session?"_

"It was long. We barely got four songs done."

"_Well, you got stuff done, right?"_

The softness of Brittany's voice calmed her down.

"Yeah, we did."

The couple talked until the end of Brittany's lunch break.

* * *

Zach was standing in front of his locker when Ashleigh came up to him.

"Hey Zach."

"Hey Ash."

"I was wondering if you could walk to AP English with me."

"Of course, you know I would love to."

Zach grabbed his AP English textbook and shut his locker, then turned around to grab Ashleigh's hand as the walked to their class.

They were the first two in the classroom if you didn't count Brittany, who was texting Santana on her phone, but she looked up when the teenage couple came in the room.

"Hey Zach, Ashleigh."

"Hey Mrs. Lopez." They said in unison.

Brittany saw the smile on Zach's face, she hadn't seen a smile like that in a long time. The two put their homework on Brittany's desk and sat in their seats.

The warning bell rang a few minutes later and everyone else came filing in.

Brittany started to teach, once everyone had settled down, and Zach noticed that there was something off about Brittany today. She didn't have as much passion in her voice as she usual did.

He tried to think back to this morning. She was unusually quiet. Riley was rambling on and on about the date she had with Taylor last night, but Brittany didn't say anything.

After class, Zach told Ashleigh that he'd meet her after their next class and he waited before everyone left before he started to talk to Brittany.

"Hey Mrs. Lopez?"

"Yes, Zach?"

"I don't know if I'm over-stepping my bounds again, but I was wondering if you were okay."

Brittany looked up from her desk and looked at him straight in the eyes.

"Ye-no."

"Do you want me to wait until we're off campus to ask you about it? We have our mother/son like date tonight. I can wait until then."

"It's j-just your mom's been spending a lot of time in the studio lately. A-and I miss her."

Brittany's voice was low and soft.

"She'll be home tonight. Why don't we postpone our date tonight, so you can spend time with her?"

"I don't want you to feel like I'm bailing on you-"

"No. Please, I miss the passion in this class. I miss it when you ask me questions that I can't answer right away. Please just spend time with your wife tonight."

"Okay, thanks Zach."

"Anytime Mrs. Lopez."

He smiled and walked out of the classroom, leaving Brittany to start her next class.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Brittany came home, when she saw Santana's car parked in the garage when she pulled in next to her, she smiled. Excited to see her wife.

She walked into their bedroom and saw Santana sleeping in a pair of boy shorts and the USC shirt that Zach had gotten her.

Brittany slipped her shoes off and climbed into the bed, managing getting into her love's arms.

A few hours go by of silence. Brittany enjoyed just being in Santana's arms. The blonde was brought out of her thoughts when the brunette started to stir.

"Hey beautiful."

Santana had that husky, half-asleep voice that Brittany loved so much.

"Hey baby."

Brittany turned in Santana's arms.

"How long have you been home?"

"A couple of hours."

Brittany leaned in and kissed her wife.

"I love you, baby."

Brittany had her hands on each side of Santana's face.

"I love you too, beautiful."

"The kids are going to be out tonight. So I thought I'd make us a nice romantic dinner here."

"Wait, it's Friday, don't you and Zach have a mother/son like date tonight?"

"We postponed it because I've missed you and I think he's having dinner with Ashleigh and her parents tonight."

"Oh okay."

It was quiet for a few moments.

"For the record, I've missed you too."

"Is it still because of what my parents think about us?"

"What do you mean?"

"Ever since the talk with Riley and Taylor and me bringing up how my parents feel, you've been spending a lot of late nights in the studio."

Santana took a deep breath and sat up. Brittany sat next to her wife.

"I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?"

Brittany grabbed her hands.

"All through our dating relationship, I thought you were going to realize that I was just the same scared little girl that you knew in high school. I kept thinking that you'll realize that you deserve better and just leave. And I couldn't lose you again, Britt. And then you said that your folks weren't okay with our relationship, not to mention our marriage, and I guess my walls went up again."

"It's okay, baby. It's okay."

The blonde had her arms around her wife.

Brittany sat there with her wife in her arms, holding her, comforting her.

* * *

Riley was stretching with Taylor in the parking lot of Huntington Beach. They were going for a Friday night run down the beach.

"After this we can hit up that diner at the end of the pier."

Taylor was getting off the ground.

"Sounds like a plan."

Riley got up and gave her girlfriend a quick peck.

The young couple ran alongside the beach as the sun set. When they were done they walked hand-in-hand to the diner at the end of Huntington Beach's pier.

They were looking out at the ocean, while sharing a meal.

Taylor had her arm wrapped around Riley.

"It's so peaceful." Riley said, referring to the ocean.

"Yeah, it reminds me of how simple life used to be."

"Life is peaceful now."

"Not as peaceful as it used to be."

"What's wrong Tay?"

Taylor shrugged.

"I feel like I'm running on empty."

"What do you mean?"

"I feel like the only thing that is right in my life is you. I feel empty. Like I'm just my parents' emotional punching bag, Austin's advice giver, one of Lincoln Prep's junior varsity midfielder. I don't feel like I'm worth anything-"

"Hey, that's not true. You are worth a lot."

Riley doesn't like chastising people, but she felt the need to here.

"Really?"

"Baby..."

It came out as a soft warning. Taylor swallowed and gripped tighter around her girlfriend's waist. They sat in a comfortable silence for the rest of their date.

* * *

Zach was sitting holding Ashleigh's hand. He readjusted his tie for what felt like the millionth time. He was near going into a full blown panic attack. Ashleigh leaned over in an attempt to calm him down.

"They're going to love you. You don't have to be so nervous."

"Y-you're dad is one of the head editors of the Los Angeles Times, you know the paper that I one day hope to work at? You're mom is an effing United States Senator, representing California. And they wanted to have a double date with us? Of course I'm effing nervous."

Ashleigh giggled.

"You're silly, you know that?"

"No, just super tense."

Ashleigh leaned in and softly kissed Zach's lips. He smiled even though their somewhat intimate moment was interrupted.

"Hello young love birds."

Zach looked up at the older couple and there stood two people that he deeply respected and looked up to greatly. There stood Robert McClain, the editor and chief of the Los Angeles Times, and United States Senator Katherine McClain. The teenage boy became nervous again.

"Mama! Daddy!"

Ashleigh stood up to greet her parents, Zach stood up and extended his hand for her father to shake.

"Ahh Zach Lopez?"

"Y-yes sir."

"Nice to meet you."

"You as well, sir."

The teenage boy then extended his hand out to his girlfriend's mom.

"Senator."

"Oh enough with this _'Sir' _and _'Senator' _crap already. You can call us Katherine and Robert."

"O-okay."

The foursome sit down at the table.

"So Zach, Ashleigh here tells us you're a future journalist?"

Robert had a smile as he looked over the menu.

"Yeah. Starting at USC in the fall."

"That's a fine school."

Katherine was also smiling looking over her menu.

Zach's hands were starting to get sweaty and shaky. Ashleigh squeezed his hand to reassure him that everything is going to be okay.

"So, how'd you two meet?"

Robert was opening up the stereotypical _'meeting the daughter's boyfriend' _dinner conversation.

"We've had numerous AP classes together since I first started at Lincoln Prep my freshman year."

Zach shrugged a tiny bit.

"What do your folks do?"

Katherine looked up from the menu. Ashleigh squeezed his hand a little tighter than he had a few minutes before. Zach cleared his throat.

"Uhm, my mom is one of the head music producer and co-owner of Rockstar Entertainment and my father is a General in the United States Marine Corps. My stepmom is actually our AP English teacher."

"Ahh, so you're Santana Lopez's kid, eh?"

It didn't mean to come out harsh like it did, Zach knew that it wasn't Robert's intention to come off that way.

"Y-yes..."

Robert realized how harsh it came out and quickly decided to rephrase his statement.

"That didn't come out right. I don't have anything against your mom or her wife. Neither my wife or I do. It just took me by surprise that you two were related."

Zach took a deep breath.

"I know it wasn't your intention, sir. I mean, Robert. I've gotten worse."

Katherine placed her hand on her husband's thigh as she took in the words that the teenage boy had just said.

"Were you bullied a lot growing up?"

"Y-yes. We moved here my freshman year, so my mom could start a record label with her high school friend, Noah Puckerman or as I know him Uncle Puck. We used to live in the Big Apple. My mom never had a serious relationship until she met my stepmom, Brittany. She and my dad never were married. So in elementary school, I was bullied for not having a dad and my mom was a workaholic. She never came to my football games until I was in high school."

It was so unusual. Zach was being so open and vulnerable. He had been more ever since he and Brittany would go on mother/son like dates and ever since he started dating Ashleigh. So here he was sitting in one of the best restaurants in all of Los Angeles with his girlfriend and her parents, being as open and vulnerable as he had ever been.

Robert and Katherine shared a knowing look as the waiter came and took their orders. Dinner went on with casual conversation. As they were standing up to leave, Robert shook Zach's hand again.

"You're a good kid. If you ever need an internship in the future, let me know."

"Really?"

"In this business and really any business, it's not what you know, it's who you know."

"Thank you."

"Just take care of our baby girl."

"You bet."

"We'll meet you at the car, Ash."

"Okay."

Ashleigh stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Zach's neck, he place his hands on her waist.

"They like you."

It was in a whisper as she learned forward to kiss him.

"Yeah, I'm not nervous anymore."

"Good. I'll call you later."

"Okay."

She leaned in and kissed him one more time before walking towards her dad's car. Zach stood there waiting for her to get into father's car. He had the biggest, cheesiest smile on his face.

He felt on top of the world.

* * *

Santana was sitting on the couch holding a sleeping Brittany when Zach got home that night. He still had the biggest, cheesiest smile on his face. He came in and sat down next to his mom and sleeping stepmom, they were watching some rerun of a tv show that he had never heard of before.

"Hey mijo, how was the double date with the girlfriend and her folks?"

"It was good. They like me. Her dad offered me an internship at the Times when I need one."

"That's cool."

She placed her head on her son's chest.

"How are you doing Mom?"

He wrapped his arm half way around his mom.

"I'm alright."

"Brittany said you've been distant lately."

"Just sorting through stuff."

"You putting your walls up again?"

"I'm trying not to, but it's happening. More than I'd like to admit."

"She loves you. She wants to be there for you. Let her in."

"I'm definitely trying now."

"I've realized that you just have to let the right people in. You don't have to let everyone in. Maybe you just need to let Brittany in."

Santana nodded and turned into his chest.

"You're right, mijo."

"I love you, Mama."

Santana smiled because he only called her _'mama' _when he was really happy. She was happy that her son was happy.

"I love you too, mijo. So so much."

Zach put his head on the top of Santana's and even though Brittany was sleeping in Santana's lap, the three of them shared a quiet moment together.

Zach still felt on top of the world, where Santana felt like she was on the bottom of it. Zach felt like he was comforting his mom in that moment.

* * *

**End Note: **Hope you enjoyed that. Feel free to hit me up on tumblr if you want: guitarkiddodgerfan


	17. To Approve of Something Again

"I swear to you Mom, if you make her feel at all awkward..."

"I know, I know, you'll refuse to go to Dylan Bryant's album release party like I want the whole family too."

Santana said what her son had said a few days before when she and Brittany asked if they four of them could go on a double date since they had gone on one with her parents.

"Why are you so tense about this? It's not like she hasn't met Brittany before."

Santana walked into the kitchen where Zach was retying the laces of his Nike's.

"Because she's never seen Brittany outside of being _'Mrs. Lopez' _at school. And she's never met you. So please, I need her to not feel awkward."

"Why do you care so much?"

"Because I've never cared about someone as much as I do about her."

"Soooo, this wouldn't be a good time to tell her how you used to run around the house naked when we had guests of when you were younger?"

Zach gave his mother a death glare.

"Okay, I'll be on my best behavior."

Santana held up a faux defense.

"Okay, well I'm going to go pick her up. Please be there on time."

Zach left when Brittany walked into the kitchen. Santana just looked at her wife, she was wearing a pair of blue skinny jeans, a white shirt, and a pair of blue Converse. She looked beautiful to Santana all the time, but somehow she looked even more beautiful right in the moment.

"You ready babe?"

"Y-y-yeah."

"What's wrong?"

"You just look even more beautiful than normal tonight."

Santana pulled her wife closer, wrapped her wife in her arms around her, and kissed her slowly.

"Come on, before you take me upstairs to _fuck _me instead of going to this double date dinner."

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea."

Santana kissed Brittany's neck.

"Baby..."

It was a warning because she knew that Zach and Ashleigh would be waiting.

"Sorry."

"Let's go baby."

Brittany grabbed her wife's hand and they walked out into the garage to Santana's car.

* * *

Zach parked the car in the diner parking lot. They were in a town right outside of LA at a hole in the wall diner.

It was the place that Zach met Brittany and Riley met Santana. It was the place where the Lopez-Evans chaotic clan really began.

Zach opened the passenger side of the door when his mom and Brittany pulled up. Santana parked and got out to open the passenger's door for Brittany to come out.

Realizing that her boyfriend's mom and stepmom were already here, Ashleigh squeezed Zach's hand a little tighter.

"It's okay."

His voice was soft, just like hers had been a week prior.

"Brittany already _fucking _adores you and my mom will too."

Ashleigh took a deep breath.

"You make me happy, Ash. Happier than I've been in a long time. My mom just wants to know why I'm so happy."

Ashleigh nodded and took another deep breath.

"Hey mijo."

Santana and Brittany came walking towards them hand-in-hand.

"Hey Mom."

"And you must be Taylor..."

It was said with a straight face.

Zach's eyes go wide and Ashleigh looks over at him with wide, hurt eyes. Brittany saw the reaction and squeezed her wife's hand.

"Stop," the blonde whispered, "you're giving them both a mild heart attack."

Santana broke out into a smile.

"I'm kidding Ashleigh. I'm Santana."

She extended her hand to the scared teenage girl. Ashleigh extended her arm and gave Santana a pretty weak handshake.

"Let's get inside before you cause more trouble."

Zach looked at his mom with somewhat of a death glare.

"If you really want him to go to Dylan's album release party, please don't do that again."

It was a soft whisper in Santana's ear that sent chills down her spine.

"Okay beautiful, I'll be good."

"Thank you."

The foursome were sitting in the booth. Santana watched as her son sat with his arm around Ashleigh and how he _genuinely _smiled around her.

When the food came that's when Santana started the small interrogation.

"So Ashleigh, what do your parents do?"

"Uhm, m-my d-dad is one of the h-head e-editors at the LA T-times and my m-mom is the only f-female U.S. Senator r-representing C-California."

"Robert and Katherine McClain's daughter?"

"Y-yes ma'am."

A few minutes later, they were ordering their food.

"So Ashleigh, Brittany said she wrote a letter of recommendation letter for you."

Santana placed a hand on her wife's thigh and smiled.

"Y-y-yeah. S-s-so I c-c-could apply for S-Stanford."

The teenage girl was nervous, maybe a little more nervous than how Zach was a week prior when he was meeting her parents. She always stuttered really badly when she was really nervous and/or under pressure. Both Zach and Brittany knew this fact.

"Do you have anything you want to study?"

"I w-w-want t-t-to b-b-become a d-d-doctor."

Zach rubbed her back and glared at his mom and mouthed stop.

Ashleigh excused herself out to the bathroom and Zach glared at his mom.

"What?"

"She gets nervous easily. Stop the interrogation. Please. I beg you."

"What do you mean?"

"Did you hear the stutter?"

"Yeah?"

"She was less nervous when I met her parents. She can't take the interrogation."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Would you have believed me?"

"I mean _maybe. _Is she going to be okay?"

"I don't know. Most likely."

* * *

After a few minutes, Brittany got up and headed towards the bathroom.

"Where are you going beautiful?"

"To make sure she's okay."

Brittany walked into the bathroom to see Ashleigh taking deep breaths while looking at herself in the mirror.

"Y-you knew I get really nervous and I s-stutter under pressure and y-you just sat there and let your wife j-just i-interrogate m-me."

The teenager looked at Brittany through the mirror.

"I'm sorry."

"Why does she even care?"

"You're dating her baby boy. The only man in her life. She's just as protective as your dad is with you."

"I j-just w-wish I-I could be normal for once."

Brittany turned her around and lifted her chin up.

"You are normal."

"L-last time I checked, normal people don't stutter every word when they're under pressure."

"Hey, you _are _normal. Normal enough to have Zach to fall in love with you."

"What?"

"Santana and I have been watching you two all night. He doesn't let his walls down easy. He's never been much of a sap. I'm pretty convinced it's just a Lopez family genetic."

The two share a small chuckle.

"But, he's in love with you. He may not be able to admit it yet, but he is. You make him so happy."

"He makes _me _so happy."

It was as soft as a whisper.

"Santana is just trying to get over that this fall her baby boy is going to be 18, going to college, starting his life. I'll tell her to stop the interrogation. Although, I think Zach is doing that now."

"I'll try not to be so nervous."

"Okay good."

"I d-didn't get accepted into Stanford."

"I'm sorry. When did you find out?"

"Right before Zach came and picked me up."

"Aw sweetie, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, USC accepted me though."

Brittany smiled and wrapped her arms around the girl and hugged her.

"Congratulations."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"Thanks for checking on me."

"Any time sweetie."

Brittany's embrace got tighter as she hugged the girl.

* * *

Meanwhile at the table...

"Zach..."

It was the first thing she had said since her wife went into the bathroom to check on Ashleigh.

"Yeah?"

"You really like her, don't you?"

"I've liked her ever since freshman year and if I'm honest I'm falling in love with her."

"So that's why you wanted me to be on my best behavior."

"Yeah, that, the fact that she gets nervous easily, and no one needs to embarrass me, even if it is you."

She reached across the table and grabbed her son's hand.

"I love you mijo."

"I love you too."

"I'll lay off on the interrogation."

"Thank you."

Santana takes her hand back as Brittany walks out of the bathroom.

"Where's Ash?"

Zach was beginning to get worried. Brittany briefly sat next to the boy and put a hand on his back.

"She's cleaning up and then she'll be right out."

Brittany moved over by Santana.

"Please don't-"

"Interrogate her, I know now."

Ashleigh came out of the bathroom a few minutes later and Zach shot up.

"I'm okay. I'm okay."

Ashleigh knowing her boyfriend was worried.

"Okay."

They ate their food and Zach had his arm wrapped around his girlfriend.

Santana felt bad. She made the girl feel uncomfortable and she's going to have to spend the next 72 hours convincing her son to go to the album release party.

There was an awkward silence that filled the double date until Santana took a deep breath.

"I just want to apologize to you Ashleigh. I didn't know-"

"It's okay, Santana."

It was soft and just above a whisper.

"Obviously, it's not."

Santana ducked her head to catch Ashleigh's eyes.

"I-I g-get n-nervous e-easily.."

"It's okay."

Santana reached across the table again to reach for her son's girlfriend's hand. Ashleigh looked up.

"I'm not going to interrogate you anymore."

"O-okay."

"Just one more question though..."

"Ok-kay."

"You really like my boy over here?"

Ashleigh looked over at Zach who was looking at her smiling.

"Y-yeah. Very much."

"Good because you make him really happy."

"He makes me really happy."

The double date went on and it ended well. When they were about to leave, Santana saw how Ashleigh immediately grabbed Zach's hand. In that moment, she realized that her baby boy wasn't a baby anymore.

She grabbed Brittany's hand as they were standing in the parking lot. They said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.

Santana walked her wife over to the passenger's side of the car and opened her door. When she got in she took a deep breath and then banged her head against the steering wheel a few times.

"What's wrong baby?"

Santana looks over at her wife who had a concerned look on her face.

"He's grown up."

"Yeah, that happens."

There was a small chuckle in Brittany's voice.

"Not helping baby."

"Sorry."

"He's been through a lot. It's good for him to finally to be happy."

"Yeah."

Brittany placed her hand on her wife's thigh.

"I've watched him grow up, you know?"

Santana's voice was low. Brittany nodded waiting for her wife to continue.

"When he was placed in my in my arms for the first time at Lima Memorial, I remember looking down at him and thinking about how I wasn't cut out to be a mom. I remember thinking how I didn't know if I could do it on my own. I remember looking down at his beautiful brown eyes as he was staring at me intently. At that moment, I realized that I wanted to give him everything. I realized that I wanted a better relationship with him than I did with my parents. I realized that I had to play mom and _dad. _When he was placed in my arms that first time, I knew this moment would come. I was so scared of it though. He's my baby boy."

Santana took a deep breath, Brittany hand was making circles on her wife's thigh.

"I'll be in this same boat with Riley in about two years."

"Yeah."

"You did a good job with him."

Santana smiled a little and shrugged.

"I tried."

* * *

Ashleigh had a strong grip on Zach's hand.

"So, that didn't go too badly, did it?"

Zach went between the road and his girlfriend.

"Not at all."

"I didn't warn my mom that you get nervous easily because I thought Brittany would have."

"It's fine baby."

"Are you okay?"

Ashleigh took another deep breath.

"I didn't get accepted into Stanford."

"What? You did better on your SATs than I did. How is that possible?"

"I don't know. I did get accepted into USC though."

There was a small smile on Ashleigh's face as one crept onto Zach's face.

"Congratulations beautiful."

"Thanks. I have to do a bunch of prerequisites, but I should be in the medical program there after a couple of years."

"That's so great sweetie."

The car fell silent.

"You know, Mrs. Lopez looks really happy with your mom."

"Yeah, they can be a little bit too much sometimes, but they're really happy together."

"Do I really make you happy?"

"Yeah, the happiest I've ever been. No other girl has made me feel this way."

"H-how do I-I make you feel?"

"You make me feel like I'm flying. You make me feel like I'm the only person in your world."

"Well, you are."

"I sometimes feel like I'm not good enough for you, like I will never satisfy you. I-"

"What are you talking about Zach?"

"I-I'm just saying that you make me wanna be a better person, Ash."

"I do?"

"Yeah, like you make me wanna be a man."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Ashleigh smiled and the rest of the ride was in a comfortable silence.

* * *

When Zach got home that night, he was met by his mom sitting in the kitchen. She was drinking a cup of hot tea.

"Hey Mom."

"Hi mijo."

"I'm going to make myself a cup."

He gestured towards her mug of hot tea.

"Okay."

He made a cup and sat in front of his mom, who took a deep breath.

"I like her."

It was in a small voice. Zach had a small smile form to his face.

"You do?"

"Yeah."

"I'm glad."

"Yeah, I totally ship Zachshleigh."

"You're weird."

The mother/son duo shared a small laugh.

"I really am sorry for making her feel uncomfortable."

"It's okay, Mom. I thought Brittany warned you about her getting nervous easily."

"No."

"Well, now you know."

"Yeah."

"I'm still coming to the album release party. It'll just be after my date with Ashleigh."

"Bring her with.."

"Really, I mean, it's your job and-"

"She makes you really happy. She's practically family."

Silence fell over them.

"I'll always be your baby boy, Mom."

Santana let a tear out.

"I k-know."

Zach got up and engulfed his mom in a huge hug.

"I love you, Mama."

"I love you too, mijo."

He stood there holding his mom for what felt like a lifetime. He knew how much she needed this.


	18. To Face Their Fears Again

**A/N: **Here's a new chapter for you all. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

"He's coming back just to go to parent/teacher conferences? Something seems fishy about that."

Riley was sitting across from Brittany as they were eating sushi together for the first time in a while. Brittany had just told her that Sam was coming back for parent/teacher conferences that week.

"I need him to, all your parent/teacher conferences are during the time where I'm holding parent/teacher conferences."

"What about Santana?"

"Legally she's not your parent because she hasn't adopted you and Lincoln Prep has rules. It has to be your actual parent."

"D-do I actually have to talk to him? Not to mention see him?"

Brittany took a deep breath, she knew that her daughter hadn't seen her dad since the big blow up. The older blonde reached across the table and placed her hand on the young blonde's forearm.

"I know it's hard. But I think it'll be good."

"R-really?"

"Yeah."

"But..."

"Yeah, I know, what happened several months ago is still fresh on my mind when he's brought up, but he's more than my ex husband. He's _your _father. And just because I don't love him like I used to doesn't mean I forgot about the time that I was in love with him. I think you seeing and talking to him while he's here is a good thing."

Riley looked down at her mother's hand that was on her forearm.

"Okay."

Riley said it above a whisper.

"I love you, baby girl."

"I love you too."

"You know your dad loves you too, right?"

Riley pressed her lips together.

"I know he does, Mom."

"You sure?"

"Mhm."

It sounded like it came out of pain which caused Brittany to squint her left eye and cocked her head a little.

"Baby girl, you don't have to lie-"

"So maybe I wanted a relationship with him and he ruined his chances. So maybe he shattered my heart. But, what makes him think that I want to try and have a relationship with him? He _fucking _hurt me."

Riley held her tears in. Brittany moved over and embraced her daughter.

"It's okay baby girl. It's okay."

Riley buried her face into Brittany's chest and let out a choked sob.

"It's okay baby girl."

She rocked them back and forth in hopes to calm down her daughter.

"No, no it's not."

"Yes, it is."

The two sat there as Brittany held and consoled her daughter. She didn't realize that the teenager held so much resentment towards Sam. But it would make sense, he did break her heart.

* * *

Zach was sitting in the kitchen with Santana and he slid a piece of paper across the table.

"What's this mijo?"

"A piece of paper with my parent/teacher conferences on it."

She intently looked at the paper, she didn't have her reading glasses on, so she was squinting.

"Do I seriously have to go to one with Brittany?"

Zach took a sip of his water and shot his mom a look.

"What do you think?"

"But, I have one with her every single night with her."

"Mom, there are some things about you and Brittany that _I _don't need to know."

"Oh, shut up."

She flung a piece of lettuce from her salad at her son.

"What? I'm just being honest."

"Most couples call it _nightly pillow talks, _you know."

"That's nice, but what does Brittana call them?"

"Brittana, really? I was thinking that our couple name was more like Santittany."

"You're weird."

He mumbled it through a mouth full of lettuce.

"Yeah well, we talk about our days before we go to bed and you always come into conversation because you're not only Brittany's stepson, but student as well."

"Yeah well, Lincoln Prep obviously doesn't know that, so you have to go the parent/teacher conference with Brittany."

"Fine, but I already know that you have an A, you're better in class when you don't have the weight of the school on your shoulders, and you strongly disagree with the modern version of MacBeth. Did I miss anything?"

"Nope. And I just read the original text of MacBeth over the summer and think the modern text kills the awesome Shakespeare vibe of the story."

"Why would you read Shakespeare over summer vacation?"

"Because _somebody _told me to be productive last summer and not spend it surfing, skateboarding, and playing Madden."

He gave his mother a pointed look.

"That's my boy."

* * *

Santana found herself lost in the halls of Lincoln Preparatory Academy a few days later. Luckily her wife came to her rescue.

"Hi, can I help you find something?"

"Yeah, I'm looking for my son's AP art history teacher's office."

"Oh? Well, who's your son's AP history teacher?"

"Uhm, Jenkins..."

"Ahh well I hate to break it to you ma'am, but you're going in the wrong direction."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, his office is that way, third door down on the left."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, baby."

Brittany said it in a whisper, not everyone at Lincoln Prep knows that they're married and they want to keep it that way for now, just until Zach graduates.

"I'll see you at 4:30, Mi Amor."

She also said in a whisper.

"Looking forward to it."

The couple went their separate ways.

Santana knocked on the office door when she got to it.

"Ms. Lopez?"

"Yes sir."

"I'm Gerald, your son is Zachary?"

"Yes sir."

"Come in, sit please. Can I get you water?"

"Yes please."

He went to the water cooler and filled a paper cup up then place it down in front of Santana.

"So Zachary is a really good student."

Santana smiled because she knew how much of a good student her son was.

"He has the highest grade in the class. Which for athletes isn't common. He doesn't say much though, but his quiz and test grades show that he really is comprehending the information."

Santana nodded along.

"However, I am worried about his lack of interaction in class."

"What do you mean?"

"He sits in the back of the classroom and doesn't say much."

"Does it affect his grade much?"

"No. I don't count participation in my final grades, but I would like him to say more and to speak up and not mumble under his breath."

"Yes, sir. Absolutely."

After finishing with Zach's AP history teacher, she went one by one to the rest of his teachers. Who all said pretty much the same thing as Gerald.

When she finally got to Brittany, she started questioning everything Brittany had been saying about him participating more.

She knocked on her wife's office door.

"Come in, Ms. Lopez."

When Brittany shut her office door, she kissed Santana so hard. She's been wanting to do it all afternoon.

"Hi baby."

Brittany whispered it so softly in her ear.

"Hi."

"What's wrong? You feel tense."

"All of Zach's teachers have told me that he's a really good student, but hasn't been participating at all in class."

"Really?"

"Yeah, is it different in your class?"

"Yeah, he's been answering all my questions, been participating in group/class discussions. Baby, do you think I've been lying to you?"

"I don't wanna think that, Mi Amor."

Brittany wrapped her arms around her wife's neck.

"Maybe he's been doing it because he knows I'll say something to you about it."

"I don't know. I mean _maybe._"

Santana sat in the chair in front of Brittany's desk and pulled the blonde down in her lap.

"I love you baby."

Brittany whispered it into her wife's ear.

"I love you too, Britt-Britt."

"So, um, yeah. Your kid is the best one I have in third period."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. He does argue that the modern version of MacBeth shouldn't be an option for AP English students."

"He read the original version over the summer."

Brittany smiled, shaking her head, she had suggested to her students to do that, but didn't know that Zach had.

"That kid..."

"He's something else isn't he?"

"Yeah, he is."

The two sat for the next fifteen minutes enjoying each other's company. Santana held her wife so tight and breathed in everything that said Brittany.

* * *

Sam walked out of the sixth parent/teacher conference and found his daughter sitting on the bench. She had just gotten out of soccer practice. It was the first time they've seen each other since the blow up.

"H-hi Princess."

"Hi Daddy."

It was so soft and vulnerable.

"How are you?"

"I-I'm g-good."

"You know I'm not mad at you right?"

"I just blew up in your face and ran back to my mom."

"I mean, yeah, I was hurt, of course. My only child was mad at me. But, it's something I got over."

"I-I d-didn't w-want to h-hurt you, D-daddy."

"I know you didn't."

"I wanna better relationship with you Daddy."

"And I want a better relationship with you Princess."

He embraced his daughter in a hug for the first time in several months.

"I m-missed you, Daddy."

"I missed you too. Your mom kinda got me caught up with your life."

"So you know about me and Taylor?"

"Yes and I support you Princess."

"G-good to know."

"Do you want to grab dinner? Sushi?"

"S-sure."

The father/daughter duo walked off campus.

* * *

Zach walked in from a study group later that night and Santana and Brittany were cuddling on the couch.

"Hey Mom. Hey Brittany."

"Hey mijo."

"Hey sweetie. How was study group?"

"Eh. Basically the same. Teaching students who don't pay attention in class what happened."

"That sucks."

Santana had her hand running through Brittany's hair.

Zach shrugged.

"Eh. It's alright."

Santana and Brittany shared a look at each other and Brittany nodded.

"Mijo, we need to talk to you about something."

"Okay?"

Santana took a deep breath.

"I talked to all of your teachers today."

"I know. It's parent/teacher conference week."

"Yeah, and everyone of them except for your beautiful AP English teacher said that you have the highest grade in their class, but they are worried about your lack of participation in class."

"Oh."

Santana took another deep breath and Brittany took this opportunity to join the conversation.

"You've participated more in my class lately. So hearing this confuses me."

"What do you mean?"

"I ask complex questions and after a few seconds your hand shoots up in the back of the classroom and you answer it. Correctly."

Zach ran his hands through his dark, thick hair.

"I-"

"We're not mad, sweetie."

Brittany got up and sat next to him.

"Then why-"

"Because mijo, we just wanna know why you're one way in Brittany's class and another during all your other AP classes."

Zach stood up and paced back and forth for a few minutes. He finally found the words to say.

"You two were basically chastising me for not participating, so I thought I could skate by with that. Only participating in Brittany's class."

"Why?"

"I hate participating. It frustrates the hell out of me."

"Why?"

"I just don't like people, Ashleigh is an exception. She understands me the best."

"I know, mijo. The only person I liked in high school was Brittany for the same reason."

Santana sat on the other side of her son as Brittany pulled him into a hug.

"Just do us a favor, sweetie."

"Yeah?"

"Try to participate more, please."

"Ok-kay."

"I know, dealing with people means dealing with drama and you've had your fair share drama in your 17 years, but sometimes in life you have to do what you don't want to do."

Santana placed a hand on her son's shoulder.

"Okay, I'll try. It's already hard for me in Brittany's class."

"I know it is sweetie. I see you and feel sorry."

Brittany ran her hand up and down his arm.

The three of them sat there in silence.

* * *

Riley sat across from her dad at the same restaurant she blew up at him a few months prior. She saw how he was fidgeting slightly. Like he had something to say.

"You okay Daddy?"

"Yeah, I just have something to talk to you about."

"Okay?"

"I'm dating someone."

Riley smiled a small smile.

"Yeah?"

"It's nothing serious at the moment, but I wanted you to know so you wouldn't be blindsided if it does end up serious.

"Thank you, Daddy."

"Her name is Nicole. She works in the marketing research department with me."

"That's cool. H-how long have you been dating?"

"A little over a month. It was time for me to move on from your mom. She's happier with Santana."

"It's not like she's forgotten the time she had with you."

"I know, but Santana makes her happier than I ever could."

"I'm glad you've found someone that you can make happy."

"Thanks Princess."

"If it gets serious, can I meet her?"

"Of course."

"Like before the rehearsal dinner?"

Sam chuckled.

"If it gets serious than you'll be meeting her the next time I make a trip out to California."

"Okay."

Sam looked at his daughter as she placed a piece of sushi with chopsticks in her mouth. After a few minutes of silence, Sam spoke again.

"Princess?"

"Yeah, Daddy?"

"I-I was wondering if you'd be willing to, you know, Skype once to twice a week? Since I c-can't be here."

"I'd like that, Daddy."

"Good because as much as your mom is cool, I like hearing about the happenings of your life from, you know, you. Not her."

Riley had a huge smile on her face.

"Okay."

"Okay then."

The two finished the dinner and the father/daughter duo spent a little more time together before Sam had to go back to New York.

* * *

Zach was standing at his locker a few days later. Ashleigh walked behind him.

"Hey baby."

She wrapped her arms around him; he turned around to face her.

"Hey beautiful."

"I missed your voice last night."

"I know, I'm sorry I didn't call."

"It's okay. Are _you _okay though?"

"Just a lot on my mind."

"Weeelll, it's free period. Do you wanna go somewhere and talk?"

"Yeah, I'd like that."

Zach shut his locker and then grabbed his girlfriend's hand. They walked out to the football stadium where they could be alone.

They sat down and Zach instinctively wrapped his arm around Ashleigh.

"So, what's up babe?"

"All my teachers, with the exception of Mrs. Lopez, told my mom that I have the highest grade in their class, but their concerned of my lack of participation."

"Okay..."

"It made me realize why. I'm not much of a people person, you're an exception."

Ashleigh nodded along.

"Then I started thinking of how I've liked you since freshman year and when I finally had the courage to ask you out, how that was the start of me falling in love with you."

"What?"

Zach turned and faced his girlfriend.

"I've been afraid of loving you because I've never loved a girl before. All my other girlfriends fit into the stereotype of me being a jock. And I'm done being scared. You may not feel this way, but Ashleigh, I love you."

It took a few seconds before Ashleigh placed her hands on each side of her boyfriend's face and kissed him.

"I love you too, Zach. So much."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

They kissed again and sat the rest of the free period in a relative silence as the cool April breeze blew through the stadium.

* * *

**End Note: **So, I know, some of you don't like that Sam's back in Riley's life. I have a plan for the father/daughter duo though. So please hang in there.

Also! I don't know when the next update will be. I'm in the midst of midterm madness and work is picking up for me. So, it won't be too far out, I just can't promise as soon as I'd like. Feel free to hit me up on tumblr though: **guitarkiddodgerfan**


	19. To Unbury Feelings Again

**A/N: **Hey readers! So, I got this update done a little sooner than I thought. But the outlining process was already done, so I just wrote it out. A few story lines will start from here. I _really _am working hard on them so, I hope you like 'em.

* * *

The end of the school year was approaching for Lincoln Preparatory Academy. Which meant several things for the Lopez-Evans household:

Zach was nearing the end of his high school career, which meant prom, stressing out over finals, and Santana being a blubbering mess soon. It meant Brittany's grading a lot more papers, homework, and tests. It meant soccer season is in full swing for Riley. And it meant that spring break was so close for the three at Lincoln Prep.

The family of four were sitting in a dinner outside of Los Angeles. The same diner that they met at four years ago and the same diner that Santana and Brittany had a double date with Zach and Ashleigh about a month before.

Santana sat with her arm around Brittany.

"Ugh. No."

Riley wasn't making any sense looking down at her phone.

"_'Ugh no' _what?"

Zach was getting tired of his stepsister's incoherent way of speaking.

"Just no."

"Baby girl, we can't help you if you're not making any sense."

Brittany was snuggling close to Santana and messing with her wedding ring.

"It's just Taylor and I made all these plans for spring break and she's saying that she can't do them now because she's going to visit her dad in Sacramento."

"So? What's wrong with that?"

Zach took a sip of her coffee.

"Uhm, Sacramento is seven to eight miles driving distance from here..."

"No shit, Sherlock. But, it's her _dad_ I would kill to spend spring break with my dad."

Zach took another sip from his coffee.

"Wait, I thought you were..."

Santana finally spoke up.

"There's talk of him getting deployed."

Zach shrugged and continued drinking his coffee.

"What?"

Both Santana and Brittany gasped in surprised.

"Yeah, there's been talk for a few months."

Zach shrugged again.

"Is that why..."

Santana couldn't even finish her statement.

"Why what? I've been spending more time with him? Partly yes."

"Mijo, why didn't..."

Santana still wasn't making coherent sentences.

"I tell you?"

He shrugged.

"I didn't think you would care, honestly."

"Just because your dad and I never married and I'm married to Brittany now doesn't mean that I never cared about him."

"Where's he being deployed to?"

Brittany's voice was soft. She too cared about Matthew, even though he hurt Santana and Zach.

Zach took a deep breath.

"Afghanistan."

"No."

Santana and Brittany's eyes went wide.

"Yeah."

Zach shrugged and his head hung. He had gotten closer to his dad over the past few months. Close enough for him to really feel like his dad was apart of his life. Matthew helped him find the courage to ask Ashleigh out. Helped with getting everything ready for USC in the fall. They had a real father/son relationship finally and Zach deep down wasn't okay with his dad being deployed.

He didn't want to break down in front of the three of them. He wanted to be strong.

"How are you doing, mijo?"

Zach shrugged.

"I'm alright."

"Mijo, you don't have to-"

"Bottle up my feelings, I know. Can we just drop this please?"

"Okay."

"How about we plan out spring break?"

Brittany wasn't going to let the awkward silence come again.

"Sounds like a good plan baby."

The four sat and planned out their spring break.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Riley and Taylor were cuddling on the couch in the Lopez-Evans living room watching ESPN. A commercial comes on and Riley looks up at Taylor before slowly kissing her. Their kissing led into a full-on, heated make out session on the couch. When Santana walked in looking for Brittany, Riley was lying on top of Taylor still making out with her.

"Woah. Too much action going down on the couch right now."

Riley slowly pulls away.

"You and my mom are worse."

"Nooo, we're not."

"Prove it."

"Uhhmm..."

"Exactly. You _almost _took her on the kitchen counter. If Zach and I didn't walk in this morning."

"So? She's my wife."

"And Taylor's my girlfriend. What's your point?"

"We're married. _Annnd _it's been a while since we've-"

"Don't finish that statement."

Santana started laughing hard.

"It's a true fact about life."

"I didn't need to know that."

Riley mumbled into Taylor's shoulder.

"Yeah, both _you _and _Zach._"

"We don't need to listen about your love life, when we hear it from down the hall."

"What?"

"You two aren't exactly quite."

"Shut u- is Chloe Tyler getting into the Major League Soccer Hall of Fame?"

"Y-yeah."

The three sat in silence during the segment on the television set.

* * *

Santana walked into the bedroom and saw Brittany rubbing her own shoulders with her back facing Santana. Santana crawled across the bed to take over. They started talking.

"So, what's going though that pretty blonde head of yours?"

"Matt's possibly being deployed. What if he dies over there and I'll forever remember him as the guy that stopped me from loving the love of _my _life."

"I thought you loved Sam?"

"I did, but I loved you more. You loved Matt right?"

"Yeah, I loved him at one point. I had to of or I wouldn't have kept Zach. Which is a scary thought. He's doing amazing things for this country Britt. And that's what I remind myself of when scary stuff with him comes up."

"Do you still love him?"

"Like a lover? No. Like he's the father of my child? Yes."

"Speaking of your child, it isn't healthy for him to hold in all of his emotions bottled up like this."

"I know, Britt-Britt. I know."

"What are we going to do?"

Santana shrugged and continuing massaging Brittany's shoulders.

"I don't know."

"We _have _to do something. He's _crushed._"

"We'll think of something."

Brittany turned back to kiss her wife; however, one kiss led into a few pecks. A few pecks led into a full-on, heated make out session. The full-on, heated make out session led into Santana needing more.

"I wanna make love to you, Britt-Britt."

The continued making out until Santana pulled off Brittany's shirt and immediately following her bra. Santana then quickly started attacking her neck. Brittany's hands were tangled into Santana's hair. Santana laid her wife down and kissed her way down before taking a nipple into her mouth. Brittany arched her back up as her wife continued to suck on her breasts.

With Brittany's hands still tangled in her wife hair, Santana made her way down to her wife's pants and undid them as fast as she could; discarding her wife's jeans and underwear before diving right into the blonde's core.

"_F-fuck!_" Brittany whisper-shouted, "F-faster, baby. Faster."

Santana did as her wife wished while kneading the blonde's breast. Brittany's hands were still tangled in her wife's hair. Santana continued to eat her wife out.

"I'm close. So _fucking _close."

Santana sucked on her wife's cilt and she could tell her wife was getting closer. Not even ten seconds later.

"_F-fuck! _I'm coming!"

After she came, Santana crawled up to cuddle into Brittany.

"J-just give me a minute and I'll repay you."

"Sounds good Britt-Britt."

A few minutes later, Brittany was straddling Santana and starting the process of getting rid of her wife's clothes.

Brittany had her fingers in Santana's core. She was whispering sweet nothings in the brunette's ear.

"You're so beautiful Sanny. The most beautiful person I've ever met. I love you, so so much. Come for me baby."

"_Ugh. _I'm so _fucking _close!"

"Come for me baby."

Brittany began to suck on one of her wife's nipples. Going back and forth giving them each equal attention.

"Oh my _fucking _god. I'm coming."

The aftermath of their love making ended with Santana holding Brittany. Brittany had her head square on Santana's chest as the brunette runs her fingers through her hair.

"I love you, Britt-Britt."

"I love you too, San."

The couple lied there in silence just cuddling in their post-sex position.

* * *

The next day, Zach was sitting in a coffee shop waiting for his dad wearing jeans, a Dodgers jersey, and a Dodgers hat with a beat up baseball glove in hand. Sunday's had always been a father/son like day for them ever since Matthew said that there was talk about him and his unit being deployed.

Matthew walked in a few minutes later, in similar attire. He smiled at his son who was waiting for him.

"Hey Zach."

"Hey Dad."

"You look good."

"Likewise."

"So, I was thinking that I could drive and we could pick your car up later?"

"Sounds good."

The father/son duo walked out of the coffee shop and headed towards Dodger stadium.

The car ride was quite, the local pop station was playing on the radio.

"So, how are you?"

Matthew could only take so much silence.

"I'm alright. I've been trying to find a creative way to ask Ashleigh out to prom."

"Oh yeah? How long do you have to figure that out?"

"Well spring break is next week and then we come back and have two weeks before prom."

"So you still have time."

"Yeah. D-did you ever go to prom with my mom?"

"Yeah, junior prom. By senior prom she was six months pregnant with you, so she didn't go."

Zach whipped his head to his dad.

"What? She didn't go to senior prom? Because of me?"

"Well there were a lot more factors than that. We were in the midst of the hugest argument of our entire relationship. Now, that I think about it, it was over what we were going to name you."

"Yeah? What did my mom want to name me?"

"Santiago."

"Really? What did you want to name me?"

"Zachary, after my dad who died in the line of duty in Iraq."

"Wow. Well, I guess you got what you wanted and she got what she wanted. My name is Zachary Santiago."

"Yeah, you're mom is something else sometimes."

"I, uh, told her and Brittany about you possibly deploying."

"Yeah? How they take it?"

"They were surprised."

"I was too, son."

The rest of the drive was relatively silent until the pull into the parking lot of Dodgers stadium.

* * *

Riley and Taylor were sitting across from Santana and Brittany at the Lopez-Evans family kitchen table. They were eating lunch after one of their soccer games.

"So Taylor, Riley says that you're going to be in Sacramento for spring break?"

Brittany places her hand on Santana's thigh.

"Yeah, I leave next Sunday morning."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, we have a tournament on Saturday."

"You do?"

Both Brittany and Santana looked wide eyed at Riley.

"Yeah, we do. Didn't Riley tell you?"

"I did tell them babe. But sometimes they're too into each other to pay attention."

"No even true, Evans and you know it."

Santana was opening up for the usual Santana-Riley banter.

"Whatever Lopez. We all know that it's true."

"You're the same way with Taylor over here. You couldn't even get through a family lunch without texting her yesterday."

Riley had no comeback because she knew that Santana was right.

"This steak is really good, Santana."

Taylor cuts the awkward silence with a knife as she threw her arm around the back of Riley's chair.

"Thank you Taylor."

The four sat and ate in a relative silence for the rest of the meal.

* * *

It was the bottom of the ninth, Dodgers were up to bat, bases were loaded with two outs. Dodgers down by two. The left-handed pitcher step up to bat. He attempts two hits and they were both strikes. It was a Dodger vs. Giants rivalry game. The Giants pitcher threw the last pitch of the game and the batter hit a home run.

The father/son duo walked out of the stadium after the game, they went to a diner down the street from the stadium and Zach could tell that something was wrong. His dad hadn't really talked to him all day. Which was fine for Zach, he understood that his dad would explain later. But, the silence was finally getting to him.

"Hey Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Is something wrong?"

Matthew took a deep breath.

"I got my orders. I'm being deployed in a week from tomorrow."

Zach took a deep breath and nodded.

"I understand."

"W-we can Skype and write letters and stuff. I promise to come home."

"You don't have to promise that, Dad."

"I've been on two tours already. And I came home."

"But, there's still that 50% chance that you won't come home."

"I know, but I try to look on the positive side of things."

"I know, Dad."

His voice was soft as he stared down at his soda. The rest of the meal was relatively silent as both the men held back their tears.

* * *

Matthew dropped Zach back off at the coffee shop to get his car to go home. The father walked his son to his car.

"Can I see you at least one more time before you deploy?"

"You bet. Dinner later on this week?"

"Sounds good, I'll text you."

Matthew hugged his son. The hugged a little longer than usual. When they pulled away Matthew looked at his son straight in the eyes.

"I love you, kid."

"I love you too, Dad."

"Drive safe."

"You too."

They both got into their cars and drove away. Zach had the radio on and was focused on the road. When he pulled up to the driveway and put his car in park, he took a deep breath.

He got out of his car and headed inside.

"Hey Zach, dinner is almost ready if-"

Zach slammed the front door shut and went upstairs ignoring his mom.

* * *

After dinner, which Zach didn't come down for, Santana and Brittany walked upstairs and knocked on his door.

Zach opened the door and looked at the couple.

"Hey."

He finally said softly.

"Are you alright mijo?"

"My d-dad is for sure getting deployed. A week from tomorrow."

The couple gasped.

"Oh mijo..."

Santana embraced her son, he hugged her back not knowing how much longer he could hold himself together.

Somehow between Santana and Brittany they got the somewhat distraught teen to his bed both lying on both sides of him.

"You know it's okay to cry, right?"

Santana caressed Zach's cheek with her fingers.

"I-I know Mom."

Brittany spooned the teenager from behind, comforting her just like she would Riley.

"You can cry, babe. Just let it out."

Brittany wrapped her arms tighter around Zach as he let the first tear out, more flooded out of his eyes. A choked sob came out as he turned in Brittany's arms and cried into her chest. Santana grabbed one of his hands.

The couple shared a look as they were comforting Zach knowing that they were in for a hard few weeks ahead.

* * *

**End Note: **Hope you enjoyed it.

Feel free to hit me up on tumblr too: **guitarkiddodgerfan**


	20. To Say Goodbye Again

**A/N:** Hey readers! So sorry for the wait. Life got in the way. So here's the new chapter.

* * *

Zach stood at Camp Pendleton standing next to his dad with tears welling up in his eyes. Matthew had invited him to the base to say goodbye one last time.

"Alright, this is goodbye kid."

Zach smiled and nodded.

"I love you, Dad."

"I love you too, Zach. We'll Skype and stuff. Make sure to get your high school graduation video so we can watch it when I get back."

"Yes, sir."

The general hugged his son.

"I'm going to miss you kid."

"I'm going to miss you too, Dad."

The father/son duo pulled away from their hug and Matthew saw tears welling up in Zach's eyes.

"I'll be back, I promise."

"D-don't make p-promises y-you know y-you can't k-keep."

"I'll be back kid."

He nodded and then Matthew picked up his sack and took a deep breath.

"Goodbye kid."

"Goodbye Dad."

Matthew walked towards the plane. Zach held in his tears as he watched his dad walk towards the plane.

"Thanks for actually being there for the past six months."

He whispered into the air towards the direction in which his dad just walked.

He stood there until the plane took off and then walked back to his car. He took a deep breath before starting his car. He was still holding back tears. He had a long hour and a half drive back. He felt alone for the first time in his life and he didn't understand why. He still had his mom, Brittany, Riley, and Ashleigh.

He spent most of the drive thinking. Thinking about his dad and how he had gotten so used to their Sunday father/son day and their Friday afternoon coffee dates. His mind then drifted off to his beautiful girlfriend, Ashleigh. They had a plans to meet his mom, Brittany, and Riley at the beach that day. He thought of ways to ask her to senior prom. His thoughts were interrupted by his in-car bluetooth going off.

"Hello?"

"_Hey, it's Mom."_

"Hey Mom."

"_How are you doing mijo?"_

"Um. Pretty well."

"_Really? To be honest, I thought you'd be a mess."_

"I'm fine, Mom."

"_Okay well, where are you right now?"_

"Driving through Irvine."

"_Okay, well Britt, Riley, and I are headed to Huntington."_

"Is Riley driving?"

Riley had just gotten her permit a week prior.

"_Yeah, why?"_

"So we should get there around the same time."

"_So mean. Glad to know you still got it, considering the circumstances."_

"I'm just saying. I was in the car the first time with Brittany she was driving without a licensed driver's training instructor and she drove five miles under the speed limit."

"_Stop being mean to Riley." He heard Brittany say in the background._

"_Yeah mijo. Stop being mean. I recall you in the same situation over a year ago."_

"Yeah and I remember liking to drive with Brittany better because at least she didn't hit the invisible break, every five seconds that the car was moving."

"_I did not hit the invisible break every five seconds. I had something on the bottom of my shoe. There's a difference."_

"_And you can't be talking," Brittany said in the background, "you did the same thing with Riley the other day."_

"She almost ran that stop sign! At least if you're going to attempt to do a California stop, do it correctly."

"_That's what I said to you like a year and a half ago, mijo."_

"_Yeah, and we didn't make fun of you either dude. Not cool."_

"Mom, am I on speaker?"

"_Yeah, why?"_

"There's such thing as speakerphone etiquette, use it!"

"_Okay, okay, but we're just saying, be nice to Riley, mijo..."_

"...or?"

"_Or we'll embarrass the hell outta you in front of your girlfriend..." Brittany shouted from across the room._

"Okay, okay. Stop ganging up on me Brittana."

"_I thought we went over this mijo. It's Santitany."_

"You're _fucking _weird."

"_And you love me."_

"If I have to."

"_Oh? I'll remember that when I write a check to USC for your tuition."_

"Are you forgetting that I'm going on a full-ride scholarship?"

"_Just for your bachelor's degree, mijo. Who do you think is paying for your master's?"_

"Okay, truth."

"_Anyway, are you picking up Ash?"_

"Yeah, she has a family breakfast thing with her parents, siblings, and grandparents in Irvine, so I'm picking her up now."

"_Okay, when do you think you'll be at Huntington?"_

"Half an hour to forty-five minutes?"

"_Sounds good."_

"Alright Mom, I'm pulling up to the restaurant now. See you soon."

"_Okay, love you."_

"Love you too."

"_Bye mijo."_

"Bye Mama."

As Zach hung up, he pulled into an upperclass like parking lot to the hotel his girlfriend was at. He got out and walked inside. When he gets inside to the restaurant of the hotel, Ashleigh stands up to greet him. She then grabs his hand and walks over to her family.

"Zach, this is my older sister Caitlyn, my twin brother Ty, my younger brother James, and Grandpa and Grandma Walker. And of course you remember my folks. Caitlyn, Ty, James, Grandpa, and Grandma, this is my boyfriend Zach."

"Hi Zach."

They all said at the same time.

"H-hi."

"So you're the boy that's making our granddaughter so happy."

Zach smiled at Ashleigh and nodded at her grandfather.

"Have they given you the _'if you hurt her, we'll kill you speech' _yet?"

The older gentleman gestured towards Robert and Katherine.

"K-kinda."

"Well, if you hurt her, I'll kill you and make it look like an accident."

Zach swallowed visibly as his grip got tighter around Ashleigh's hand.

"Daddy..."

Katherine gave her father and warning look.

"What?"

Katherine shook her head.

"What? Why not?"

"Because Kevin, he takes very good care of our baby girl."

Robert finally interjected.

Kevin looked up at Zach, who had a small smile on his face.

"You look like a good kid. We're just about finished with breakfast. Join us."

"Okay."

Zach took a seat next to Ashleigh.

"So Zach, Ash tells us that you were saying goodbye to your dad at Camp Pendleton..."

Robert let the statement hang.

"Yeah, he's doing a tour in Afghanistan."

Zach's voice was low as he looked down and started to play with the fabric of Ashleigh's dress.

"He's serving this country with great pride."

Zach nodded.

"Doesn't change the fact that I miss him already."

"I know bud, but he'll be back."

"Nobody knows that for sure."

He still hasn't looked up. It had been a long, emotional morning.

The rest of the end of breakfast was sat in a relative silence. Zach didn't look up once because all he could do is think about his father. Think about all the good times they've had in the last six months and how the next couple of weeks is going to be hell. He's really glad that it's spring break and all of his teachers assigned a little homework over the break. He was broken out of her thoughts when he felt Ashleigh's hand squeeze his tighter.

"Y-you ready to go, baby?"

"Yeah."

"Have her home by curfew."

Robert and Katherine said at the same time.

"Absolutely."

"And Zach..."

Robert caught him mid-stride.

"Yeah?"

Zach turned around to make eye contact.

"Everything's going to be okay."

"Thank you, Robert."

The young couple walk out of the restaurant hand-in-hand. When the two got to his car, Zach opened the door for his girlfriend. The car ride was somewhat quiet. Ashleigh place her hand on Zach's thigh.

"I l-love you baby."

Ashleigh for the first time didn't know if he would say it back.

"I love you too, sweetie."

When they arrived at Huntington Beach, they sat in the car for a while waiting for Santana, Brittany, and Riley to show up.

"So, may I ask how it was this morning?"

"Emotional."

He mumbled and grabbed her hand.

Ashleigh leaned and kissed him slowly. They started to make out slowly.

A few minutes later, Riley pulled in next to them with Santana in the passenger seat and Brittany in the backseat. The three of them just stared at the couple.

"It looks like they're eating each others faces off."

Riley tilted her head to the side.

"Wanna go scare the shit out of them?"

Santana had the hugest, cheesiest grin on her face.

"Hell yeah."

Riley and Santana shared a fist bump. Brittany just shook her head as she received the car keys that were being thrown at her.

They approached the car. One on each side, Santana nodded and the two proceeded to bang their fists on the side of the car. The young couple jumped back, breathing heavy.

Zach looked up and saw his mom grinning down at him. She and Riley stopped the banging as Zach and Ashleigh exited the car.

"What the hell was that for?"

Zach mumbled as Santana pulled him into a tight hug.

"Just me and Riley being asses."

"Yeah, thanks."

The mother/son duo stood there in an embrace for a moment.

"I love you, mijo."

"I love you too, Mom."

The two pulled away from their long hug and Zach grabbed Ashleigh's hand as they walked up to the beach. Santana grabbed Brittany's hand while kissing her cheek.

The walked to the beach and set everything up, Zach went to the bathroom to change out of the dress clothes that he was wearing to a pair of board shorts and a t-shirt and flip-flops.

Ashleigh came out of the women's bathroom as soon as Zach was coming out of the men's. She smiled at her boyfriend.

"What are you thinking about?"

Zach pulled his girlfriend close and rested his forehead on hers.

"I don't know, how handsome you look right now."

"I'm in board shorts and a t-shirt?"

"You're still _so _handsome."

"Mmm. You're beautiful. So so beautiful."

Ashleigh wrapped her arms around his neck while Zach placed his hands on her hips. Ashleigh stood on her tiptoes to kiss her boyfriend. They started to make out again.

Santana is standing by the car getting her and Zach's surf board off the top of Brittany's car, she was looking at her son and his girlfriend make out in the middle of the sidewalk.

"Whatcha looking at baby?"

Brittany came behind her and wrapped her arms around her wife.

"My son making out with his girlfriend. They don't normally show _this _much PDA right?"

"It's most likely because he's missing his dad already."

"Yeah, maybe."

"They really bonded and connected in the last six months."

"Yeah, I walked into his room this morning to drop off his clean laundry and I saw a picture hanging on his wall of him and his dad after a game of golf. He looked happy just hanging with his dad."

"He knows it isn't Matthew's fault why he left right?"

"Yeah. He knows, I think he just wished things could have been different."

"How are _you _doing, baby?"

"He's my ex boyfriend, the father of my child. I'm doing better than my son is."

Santana shrugged.

"You still loved him at one point though."

Santana started to sob.

"Oh baby."

Brittany turned her around.

"Santana baby, look at me."

Brittany tried pulling her wife into her. Zach was over in an instant.

"Mom? Mom? Mama?"

Santana calmed down and looked up at her son.

"How can you be so strong mijo?"

Zach shrugged.

"It's just how I process things."

"By bottling everything up on the inside?"

"No, by just not talking about it and when I'm ready to talk about it, I'll let you know."

"Okay."

He embraced his mom once more.

"Now, how about we go catch some waves while our women talk about whatever the hell Ash needs to talk to Brittany about."

"Okay."

Zach grabbed both of their boards and headed towards the beach.

Riley was sitting in a low lawn chair and half asleep listening to music and Zach and Santana walked into the water to start their surf session.

"So," Brittany said to Ashleigh, "what's up?"

"From a woman married to a Lopez to a young woman dating a Lopez, what's your secret?"

"What do you mean, sweetie?"

"He's _not _okay. No matter how many times he said that he is. How do you break Santana down?"

"Honestly?"

"Yeah."

"I straddle her lap and look at her in the eyes and tell her that I'm not going anywhere. Then she normally opens up...well after a couple glasses of red wine, but I _don't _encourage underage drinking."

Ashleigh chuckled.

"I know, Mrs. Lopez, but-"

"Brittany."

Ashleigh cocked her head.

"What?"

Brittany took a deep breath.

"I know you're used to calling me Mrs. Lopez at school, but please when you're with us, as a family, call me Brittany."

"Okay, _Brittany, _is Zach any different from his mom?"

"Other than being six foot-four, deep voice, facial hair, and being a boy? No. He's just like his mom."

Ashleigh nodded.

"He needs to know that you're going to keep him safe. He doesn't give his heart out at all. So this should be a _fucking _miracle."

Ashleigh chuckled.

"Th-thank you Mrs- I mean Brittany."

"You're welcome, sweetie."

The two of them slowly looked out to the ocean and saw Santana and Zach catch a wave together. Ashleigh took a deep breath.

"Whatcha thinking about?"

Brittany was cautious, but curious.

Ashleigh shrugged.

"We're graduating in three weeks. It's just a scary thought."

"Yeah?"

"And just some family stuff."

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

Ashleigh shrugged.

"My f-folks are t-talking about m-moving to D-D.C."

"Wow."

"Y-yeah."

"What about your dad's job?"

"Um I don't know..."

"You don't know or you can't tell me?"

"A little bit of both."

"I understand."

Silence fell between the two as they watched Santana and Zach continue to surf.

"They're cute together."

Ashleigh smiled at Brittany who was already smiling.

"Yeah, they've been through everything together."

"I wonder what they're talking about out their waiting for the next wave."

* * *

"So, cut the shit, how are you really doing, mijo?"

"You know most parents don't swear when they're talking to their child, right?"

"And _you _know that you're changing the subject, right?"

"I'm fine."

"Going back to my _'cut the shit' _comment..."

"I'm _fine!_"

"Okay, okay."

"How are you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You broke down in the middle of the parking lot..."

"I care about your dad. I loved him at one point."

"He was _actually _there for the past six months. I just miss him, you know?"

"I understand, mijo."

The next wave came and the two started paddling catching the wave. The mother/son duo caught a few more waves before joining Brittany, Ashleigh, and Riley back on the beach.

Santana came behind Brittany and held her, Brittany leaned back and smiled.

"Hey baby," the blonde said.

"Hey Britt-Britt."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

The couple looked at Zach holding Ashleigh. Her head leaned back whispering in his ear, getting him to relax. Santana and Brittany smiled at the young couple loving how they are together. It was going to be a long spring break, but it was going to be a good one.

* * *

**End Note: **So I have the next chapter outlined already. All I need to do is write it up. Which I don't know when I'll have time to do that. School is top priority right now and it's taking up a lot of my time. Thank you for understanding.


	21. To Reminisce Again

**A/N:** Hey readers! So I decided to do a time jump because I was suddenly inspired by a three-part storyline for Zach's graduation. They will most likely be longer chapters, but they'll be good. I do see a Glee club reunion in the works too. There will be flashbacks to my Brittana's dating/engagement period, in these upcoming three chapters as well. So here's part one...enjoy!

* * *

Zach was standing at his locker the morning of his last day at Lincoln Prep when he heard over the loud speaker.

"Zachary Lopez, please report to the counseling office. Zachary Lopez to the counseling office please."

Thoughts raced through his head as he shut his locker and walked towards the counseling office.

"_What did I do? Holy fuck! What did I do? The senior prank with the boys was so fucking innocent. Oh man. What did I do?"_

He walked into the counseling office with his backpack clutched close to him. He walked into Quinn's office where he saw Principal Carlson, Guidance Counselors Adams and Fabray, Ashleigh, Ashleigh's dad, and Brittany.

"H-hi, w-what's going on?"

"Please take a seat Mr. Lopez."

The principals voice sounded serious.

"Mr. Lopez, we were just talking with Miss McClain here about how her time at Lincoln Prep has been."

"Okay?"

"And we were wondering the same for you.."

"I-it's been great."

Brittany was standing behind her stepson and saw how tense his shoulders got.

"Principal Carlson," the English teacher said calmly, "put him out of his misery please."

The principal laughed and then looked at Zach.

"It was a very close call between you and Miss McClain here for valedictorian. And with your recent test scores in Mrs. Lopez's class it brought your overall grade point average two points over Miss McClain."

"W-what?"

"Congratulations baby."

When Zach turned to face his girlfriend she had a huge smile on her face.

"Wait... you're not like _mad_?"

"Why would I be mad?"

"You've been working for this since like kindergarten and I just came in and swooped in and took that away from you."

"And? You've worked _so _hard to get to this place. Worked so hard to prove yourself. That you're _more _than just a football player that is just _skating _by in AP classes. _You _out of _all _people deserve this."

Zach let tears shed out of his eyes. Brittany placed her hands on his shoulders. Zach looked up at Brittany who just smiled down at him.

"You worked hard for this babe. All those late nights and all-nighters. All those times you gave up hanging out with your friends to study. You deserve this."

Brittany was crouched down next to him looking at him dead in the eyes.

"I'm not Mrs. Lopez right now," she continued, "Well, I am, but not to you. I'm acting as your parent. I know legally that isn't Lincoln Prep's rules, but with your mom in New York for the next couple of days, I am a pretty damn good replacement."

Zach looked at his stepmom who had placed one of her hands on his cheek.

"Your girlfriend is right babe," she said caressing his cheek with her thumb, "_you _deserve this."

Zach looked over at the two guidance counselors and the principal standing with smiles on their faces and he looked over to Robert to see a huge smile on his face. He then shot up from the chair and started to pace back and forth running his hand through his thick, black hair and adjusting his uniform tie every once and a while.

Everyone in the room had concerned looks on their faces until the principal said something.

"Mr. Lopez?"

He looked up and saw everyone's concerned face.

"Yeah?"

He was running his hand through his goatee.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm just surprised. I mean, Ash did better on her SATs then I did."

"You also wrote that extra credit paper for my class," Brittany said as she took a step closer to him.

"Yeah? So?"

"I didn't."

Ashleigh stood up and walked next to Brittany.

"What? W-why not?"

"Because baby, _you _deserve this."

"B-but..."

"But nothing. Zach, baby," Ashleigh took a step closer, "you've worked for this. You've fought for this. This. Is. Your. Accomplishment. Why is that so hard for you to accept?"

"_Because_ you had a reason to work this hard. You have a dream. _I_ only worked my ass off to prove my mom wrong."

"And you did," Ashleigh took another step closer and wrapped her arms around his neck, "you know, salutatorian looks just as good as valedictorian."

Zach wrapped his arms around her waist as she buried her face into his chest as he placed his chin on the top of her head. The young couple were lost in their own little world as the adults in the room just looked at them in awe.

"How does she do that?"

It was the first thing Guidance Counselor Adams had said since Zach had come in.

Brittany just smiled as she watched her stepson relax with his arms around his girlfriend.

"I don't know," she whispered, "but I like it."

The young couple left their embrace and Zach then looked at Brittany.

"You haven't told my mom yet, have you?"

"Nope. I found out when Ashleigh did."

"C-can we keep it a surprise until graduation?"

Brittany smiled and nodded, knowing how much Santana would appreciate the surprise.

"You bet, sweetie."

Zach walked over and hugged Brittany.

"Thanks...for everything."

"You bet."

* * *

A few days later, Santana walked through the door of the garage and was met by her wife.

"_Baa-by!_" Brittany threw her arms around Santana's neck and gave her a kiss. "Welcome home!"

"Thank you, Amor. I'm glad to be home."

Santana immediately wrapped her arms around her wife's waist.

"Well, _good_! The house is ready for the weekend of family and friends coming through for Zach's all-weekend graduation party."

"Yeah. I talked with some of our old glee club members and they said that they could be here Saturday. Which means that your family can come and celebrate with us tomorrow."

"Yeah, my folks have been in town since yesterday, my younger sister picked them up from LAX."

"Okay. So, where is the almost high school graduate?"

"Already at Lincoln Prep. All the graduates had to be there three hours early to rehearse and then a lot of them were hanging out and grabbing something to eat in the cafeteria for the last time before the ceremony. It's Lincoln Prep graduation tradition. I have to be headed that way in about a half an hour. Hang with some of the students for the last time."

"Okay. So I could take a power nap? Because I couldn't sleep on the plane."

"Yes, of course! I'll call at 6 to wake you up?"

"Sounds perfect Amor."

"Okay, go get that nap. I love you."

"I love you too. Have fun!"

"Bring tissues!" Brittany called over her shoulder as Santana walked up the stairs.

"Oh trust me, I will!"

Santana was walking passed Riley's room when she heard a choked sob come out from underneath the door.

Santana lightly knocked on the door while opening it.

"Riley?"

"Hey Santana, welcome home."

"What's wrong?"

"I don't even know. I've been crying for the past half an hour and I don't even know."

Santana walked towards the bed, sat down, and wrapped Riley in her arms.

"Did something happen between you and Taylor?"

"Kinda. I mean we've been distant lately."

"What do you mean by distant?"

"She's just been blowing me off since the end of soccer season."

"What do you mean, sweetie?"

"Every time we make plans at the last minute she just cancels."

"Maybe there's stuff going on."

"I don't know, I mean, _maybe._"

Santana held the girl closer, rocking them both back and forth a little. She and Riley don't normally have a lot of alone time together. Especially this type of quality bonding time. Riley was always so cuddly with Brittany, Taylor, and even Sam. It took a lot for her to cuddle with Santana.

The two sat there in a relative silence until they had to get up and get ready to go.

* * *

Zach was sitting with Ashleigh in his arms. They were sitting in the football stadium stands for the last time as students of Lincoln Preparatory Academy. They were watching as the maintenance crew put the finishing touches on the stage before the actual ceremony.

Zach's phone rings by an unknown number.

"Hello?"

"_Is this Zachary Lopez?"_

"Yes?"

"_My name is General Peters. I'm the general that you met when you came and said goodbye to your father."_

"Oh hi, sir."

"_Hello, I am calling to bring some unpleasant news."_

"What's that sir?"

"_Your father was involved in a helicopter crash and is missing in action."_

"Oh my god."

"_I know this is a lot to handle, but he put you as his family contact in case this happened."_

"Yes, I-I k-know, sir."

"_I'm really sorry, son."_

"It's fine, t-thank you for letting me know."

"_You're welcome, I'll call you if I get anymore information."_

"Thank you sir."

"_Have a great night."_

"You too."

"_Goodbye Zachary."_

"Goodbye Sir."

He hung up the phone and it looked like he was going to upchuck.

"Baby?"

"He's missing in action."

"Who? Your dad?"

"Y-yeah. H-he could be dead."

"You don't know that for sure."

"No, but I know that he's not safe."

Ashleigh embraced her boyfriend as he cried.

"Why? Why? Why?" He cried.

"Shh. It's okay."

"I knew something like this would happen." He whispered.

"You did?"

"Yeah, something about him leaving didn't feel right."

"Oh baby."

As she hugged him, Brittany came into the stadium looking for Zach.

"There you are..."

She walked up to the young couple and saw the tears in Zach's eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"I'll let you two talk." Ashleigh got up and walked towards the exit of the stadium.

Brittany sat down and wrapped her stepson in her arms.

"My dad is missing in action."

"Oh sweetie."

He shrugged.

"I had a feeling something like this would happen."

"When did you find out?"

"Like less than five minutes ago."

"Oh. So this is-"

"Recent news? Yeah."

Brittany embraced him tighter. He relaxed in his stepmom's embrace.

"Thank you for telling me the truth, honey."

"You're welcome, Britt."

"Do you want me to tell your mom?"

"Can I? My dad is a sore subject as it is. It's something we always agreed to go through as a family. And I know you and Riley are family now, but I just mean-"

"I get it, honey. And I'm not offended at all."

Zach took a deep breath and chuckled lightly.

"Whatcha thinking about Valedictorian?"

"How far you and I have come this past school year."

"Yeah, we sure have."

"If you were to tell me freshman year, when I walked in on you and my mom making out on the couch of our apartment, that on my graduation day you would be holding me, I'd laugh at you."

"That was an awkward evening."

_**Flashback**__(Zach: Freshman Year)_

"Mom, I'm home! What time is Brittany coming over? Because I need to shower and crap before she gets here."

Zach had just gotten home from football practice and he was going to meet his mom's girlfriend. What he didn't know is that _Brittany _was already there.

He looked at the couch and saw his mom making out with someone, obviously Brittany.

"Mom!"

"Hey mijo."

"Is Brittany already here?" He whispered.

"Yeah, she came over after work. Her daughter is with her dad."

"So I don't have time to shower?"

"You do, but meet Brittany first."

Zach saw blonde hair over the arm rest. Brittany sat up and smiled.

"Holy shit!" Zach's eyes got wide and shoulders tensed as he whispered.

"Is something wrong mijo?"

"Ms. Evans?"

"Wait, what?" Santana didn't understand at first.

"You're dating my AP English teacher? What the hell?" He hissed.

"Wait, your his teacher?" Santana looked over at Brittany.

"Yeah, totally. Third period? Right?" Brittany played it off cool. Zach nods faintly.

Zach just looked at his mom, wide-eyed, somewhat hurt.

"Mijo, I didn't know."

"Of course you didn't..." Zach mumbled under his breath.

Zach turned around to talk to the bathroom to shower. Santana turned back to her girlfriend.

"Uhm, so you're his teacher?"

"Yeah, he's one of the quietest yet smartest students I have in third period. Doesn't participate much and I'm pretty sure that's the first time I've heard his voice above a whisper."

"It's a new school for him. He's shy."

"Shy is an understatement about him that's going through all the AP teachers."

"Wait a minute, you're his _teacher_ and I'm his _mother..._is that aloud?"

"I don't know and besides my older sister Jahna is one of the guidance counselors with Quinn and my sister is dating the principal. They know I don't just hand A's out like candy. And they know. Okay? Calm down."

"Wait, they know? How long have they known?"

"Since I told Quinn that I was dating you. You know, she's his godmother."

"Oh, right. Wait, then why didn't you tell me that your his teacher?"

"Because I knew you probably would've broken up with me, if you found out. And I couldn't lose you again."

"Baby," Santana breathed out, "I'm so sorry you felt that way."

Santana steps in and gives her a hug. They stay that way until Zach comes out.

Santana hears the fridge open in the kitchen.

"Can you wait in here for a moment," she whispers.

"Of course." Brittany whispers back and gives her a soft kiss.

Santana walked into the kitchen to her son drinking a bottle of water.

"Mijo," she breathed.

"Anybody else could've made you happy. Anybody else. Why her?" He said not looking at her.

"She's always made me happy, mijo."

"What do you mean?" He made eye contact with his mom.

"We were best friends in high school."

"Oh..."

"I thought I told you that." She took a step closer to her son.

"No, you tend to keep your relationships on the down low."

"Yeah. I don't want you to be attached and then things to end badly."

"What makes her any different?"

"Because what we have is love. Real, genuine, true love. I've loved her for as long as I remember."

"And her daughter? How'd she take this?"

"Not very well, she wants her folks to get back together. But, she didn't freak out like you did."

"That's because she's my AP English teacher!" He argued.

"How was I supposed to know that?"

"If you were to actually pay attention to my schedule, you may have recognized it!"

"It could've been any person with that last name of Evans."

"You know what? I need an out, okay? I'm going for a walk. Maybe it's best if you let me know when the ninth inning is over, seems to work with all your other relationships."

"Zach, wait!"

And it was too late, Zach was already halfway out the door, slamming the apartment door behind him. Santana just stared at the door with a blank stare. She looked over to Brittany, who gave her a sympathetic smile.

_**Flashback Ended**_

"You know, I don't think I've ever apologized for that night," Zach said breaking the silence, placing his head on Brittany's shoulder.

"I think you've made up for it though." Brittany put her head on his head.

"Yeah, the night she proposed to you, I think I made up for it the most." Zach softly chuckled.

_**Flashback**__(About A Year Before)_

"Zach!" Santana was pacing back and forth in their apartment living room.

She was going to propose to Brittany. They had been dating for a couple of years and they were ready to take that next step. Or so Santana hoped.

"Mom, you're going to burn a hole in the ground with all the pacing your doing. And you know, Mr. Jenkins underneath us doesn't want that."

Santana looked up at her son with a pained expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" He immediately was by his mom's side.

"I'm going to propose to her."

"Who? Brittany?"

"No, the girl I met last night. Yes. Brittany."

"Okay? You know she's going to say yes, so why are you nervous?"

"I need your help."

"Okay?"

"I need you to pick her up."

"Come again."

"I rented out this nice diner for the night. All of Brittany's favorite people from the studio are going to be there playing. All our old friends from Glee club are going to be-"

"Hold up, wait a minute, you two were in Glee club?" Zach was chuckling.

"Yeah. So was Uncle Puck and Aunt Quinn. It's where your dad and I met." She says that last part slowly.

"I thought you met my dad because he was a football player and you were a cheerleader."

"Well, yeah, but he was a nerdy football player."

"I don't even want to know what that means."

"He was just like how you are now."

"I am _not _nerdy."

"Anyway... I need you to pick Brittany and Riley up tonight."

"Woah, woah. Why Riley?"

"Because Brittany's her mom..."

"Fine."

"Thank you, mijo."

Zach shrugged.

"Who's coming from the label?"

"Nathan Barrett-Thomas, Monday Morning Leads, and Paul Samuel."

"Oh."

"They're all Britt's favorites."

"They're all new though."

"I know, but _she _likes them. I want tonight to be all about her."

"Okay, wait! Tonight?!"

"Yeah, don't act like you haven't heard me and Aunt Quinn planning this."

"Well, I haven't. When I play Madden. That's all I'm focused on."

"Are you okay with this?"

"With what?"

"Me marrying Brittany?"

"Well, theoretically she has to say yes to your proposal first."

"You know what I mean, mijo."

"Yeah, sure. Whatevz. She makes you happy. So I guess I'm happy."

_**Flashback Ended**_

"You think she would've known then that I had something against you." Zach said.

"Yeah, maybe she was just oblivious."

Principal Carlson came into the stadium.

"Sorry to break up a mother/son like moment, but we need you valedictorian. You too, Mrs. Lopez."

"We're coming." Brittany said standing up, holding her hand out to Zach to take.

Zach looks at her hand. Brittany had successfully calmed him down and he was ready to go on with his graduation. He takes her hand as they were led out by Principal Carlson.

"So here ends a chapter of you life," Brittany whispers to him as they exit the stadium, "are you ready for the next?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"I love you, Zach. And thank you for everything you've done to help the two of us grow this school year." She kissed her stepson's cheek.

"I love you too."

They went separate ways. Zach went to the gym to get his cap, gown, and valedictorian sash and Brittany headed towards the teacher's lounge where the rest of the teachers of graduates were, making sure to text Santana to make sure she's there on time.

* * *

**End Note: **So the next chapter will continue from here. With more flashbacks and the graduation ceremony. The next chapter should be done within the next week.


	22. To Walk Again

**A/N: **Here's party two of three! Please enjoy!

* * *

Santana walked into MacArthur Preparatory Academy's football stadium with Riley.

"My grandma just texted me, they're in section 105." Riley softly said.

"Okay, well this is 106, so they must be over there somewhere." Santana said placing her hand on Riley's shoulder.

Riley smiled at Santana's somewhat motherly gesture.

The two walked over to where Brittany's parents and younger sister were sitting.

"Hi Nana and Papa. Aunt Sarah." Riley softly said when they get there.

"Hey sweetie." Vanessa said.

Riley sat next to her aunt and Santana sat in between her stepdaughter and mother-in-law, putting her in the middle.

She hadn't talked to her in-laws since finding out that they only saw her as their middle daughter's best friend, not wife.

"Hi Santana."

"Hi Vanessa, Michael."

"Hey."

"So, how are you, Santana?" Vanessa asked, cautiously. Knowing that she and her husband were not two of Santana's favorite people right now.

"I'm good."

"How's the label?"

"It's good."

"So, how proud are you of your boy right now?" Michael asked.

Santana smiled.

"So proud."

Principal Carlson had then come to the podium and the ceremony started.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I'd like to welcome you to Lincoln Preparatory Academy's Class of 2029's graduation commencement ceremony. So please welcome, the graduating class."

Two by two the graduates came into the stadium.

"It's hard to believe that 17 years ago, that was you, Brittany, Sam, and Matt." Vanessa whispered to Santana.

"Yeah. It's hard to believe." She whispered, holding back her tears.

Her baby boy was graduating from high school. She never thought she'd live to see this day.

"We're warming up to the fact that you make our little girl happy." Vanessa whispered again, "Just please give us time and understand that this is still all new to us."

"Okay." Santana breathed.

The sat silently as the ceremony progressed. Principal Carlson was currently up introducing the valedictorian when Santana's eyes teared up again.

"It gives me great pleasure to introduce to you our valedictorian. He's a first year transfer from a modest school in New York City. He was the first freshman to catch the varsity football coaches eye. And the first freshman to lead our football team to win a state championship. He was voted the most likely to succeed. Please welcome, Zachary Lopez."

"What?" Santana said with tears in her eyes.

"Surprise." The four people next to her said.

"Thank you Principal Carlson." Zach looked down at his speech and adjusted his tie underneath his graduation gown, "Good evening, my name is Zachary Lopez. As Principal Carlson has already said, I spent my elementary and middle school years at a small prep school in New York City similar to this. A lot of you wonder how it's possible for an athlete like me, can pull straight A's with the intense schedule that I have. And I won't lie, it started as a bet, my freshman year with my mom. But, it then turned into something that I've been taught over the years. Stereotypes don't mean anything. And I have one person to thank for that. I have one person to thank for getting me here today. She got pregnant during her senior homecoming and spent the majority of her senior year trying to figure out what she was going to do with the rest of her life. Little did she know, she would be raising a boy that would turn into a man. I could thank the teachers who got me here, I can thank countless friends, and family, but I'm only going to thank one person in my speech tonight. I want to thank the women who gave me my name and life's blood, Santana Lopez. My mom has always challenged me to be better. Loved me unconditionally. And dared me to dream bigger." He found Santana's eyes in the audience, "I love you Mom and you are the reason I am the person I am today." He continued his speech with a proud mama sitting in the stands.

A half an hour later, Zach was standing in line to get his diploma.

"Stephanie Elaine Lander...Walter Tyler Lewinsky... Daniel Taylor Longsword... Zachary Santiago Lopez..."

At the sound of his name, a good chunk of 205 went crazy.

"_Looks like my aunts and uncles decided to make an appearance." _Zach thought.

Zach walked across stage, shaking staff, faculty, and teachers hands. When he got to Brittany, he smiled a genuine smile. Instead of shaking his hand, she hugged him in front of everyone watching.

"Congratulations babe." She whispered into his ear.

"Thanks, Mrs. Lopez." He smiled knowing that's the last time he'll ever have to call her that.

Zach continued to walk off stage and spread his arms out as if saying, "what up, I'm a high school graduate."

There were two people between Zach and Ashleigh and he willingly waited for his girl.

"Leah Renee Low... Gabriel Michael Matthews... Ashleigh Leigh McClain..."

Ashleigh got her diploma and shook all the teachers hands and then Zach embraced her in the hugest hug and kiss ever.

"We did it, baby." She whispered.

"Yes. We. Did. University of Southern California, here we come!"

The couple kissed again and then hugged each other tighter.

Santana watched the young couple interact and she was reminded of her graduation night. It also happened to be the night that she went into labor with her only child.

_**Flashback**__(Santana: Almost 18 years before)_

"...Santana Marie Lopez..."

Santana waddled across the stage, she was six and a half months pregnant with Zach. She still had another two and a half months to go with this pregnancy and she hated that she had to waddle. She was shaking Principal Figgins hand as her water broke. On stage in front of everyone and the first contraction hit as she sat waiting for the ceremony to be over.

"Sanny?" Brittany asked noticing that her best friend is in pain as they got up.

"Nothing, go away Britt!"

"Santana?" Sam said placing a hand on her back.

"Get off, Trouty Mouth!"

"Santana!" She heard a firm voice that was Matt's.

"What?"

"Did your water break?"

"Yes."

"Are you feeling contractions?"

"Yes."

"Let's get you to the hospital."

"No."

"For the love of god, Santana. We're going to the hospital." Matthew said firmly.

"Okay." Santana breathed out.

"Sam help me." Matthew said.

"Yes, sir."

"No military jokes Evans. Just help."

The four of them got out of the football stadium and got Santana to the hospital.

_**Flashback Ended**_

Santana was snapped out of her flashback by seeing all of the graduation caps about to be thrown in the air.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Principal Carlson said into the microphone, "it gives me great pleasure to present the Lincoln Preparatory Academy class of 2029!"

Graduation caps are being thrown in the air. Cheering being roared through the stadium. High fives, hugs, and fist bumps in the air. Santana saw the smile on her baby boy's face as he kissed Ashleigh. She couldn't remember the last time he looked so relaxed, so happy.

* * *

Santana met her son and wife outside the stadium. Brittany came out first.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Santana said as she wrapped her arms around the blonde's waist.

"Tell you what?"

"That I'm the proud parent of the valedictorian?"

"He wanted to surprise you."

"He's something else."

"Yeah, he wanted it to be a surprise because he knew how proud you'd be."

"I'm so _fucking_ proud."

She leaned in and gave her wife a quick kiss as Zach came over with a small smile on his face.

"Hey Mom."

"My baby boy, the valedictorian."

She embraced him in a huge hug.

"I love you, Mama."

"I love you too, mijo."

"I meant every word."

"I know you did, mijo."

"Thank you for never giving up on me."

"Thank you for surprising me like that."

"You bet."

"Can we get some pictures now?"

"Yeah, sure."

Santana pulled the phone out of her pocket and handed it to Riley. She took pictures of Santana and Zach. Zach waved Brittany in and the three of them took a few pictures together. Then the four of them. Soon enough, Santana and Brittany's old Glee club found them and this is how the next half an hour went.

* * *

Zach walked hand-in-hand with Ashleigh down Huntington Beach pier. They just wanted a little time before heading to their sober grad night on a yacht that Lincoln Prep time-shared for this kind of occasion.

"How are you feeling?" Ashleigh asked Zach.

"It's like a mixed emotion. Bitter sweet."

"Do y-you wish your d-dad was here?" She asked hesitantly.

"Yeah." He said looking at the waves hitting the shore."

"I'm so sorry babe."

She embraced him and held him tight. They sat on a bench in silence for a while.

"You know, the whole time I was up there, giving my valedictorian speech, I was trying to hold myself together because all I could think about was my dad. Kept thinking about how I could never see him again. How much I missed him. I managed to pull it off like a bitter sweet emotion of graduating. But, deep down, I was ready to get out of Lincoln Prep."

Zach sighs and puts his arm around Ashleigh.

* * *

Brittany rolls off of Santana. Both breathing heavy from their previous activity.

"I'm so glad you didn't have to chaperone at that sober grad night," Santana breathed out, wrapping her arm around Brittany.

Brittany chuckled.

"You're just saying that because I just gave you a mind blowing orgasm."

"Well, there's that too."

Brittany hummed as she cuddled into Santana. Brittany had her head on Santana's chest as the brunette played with blonde locks.

"Whatcha thinking about, Mi Amor?" Santana softly said as Brittany was quitter than usual.

"I-I wanna expand our family..." Brittany said quietly, afraid of Santana's reaction.

"Really?"

"Yeah..."

"Okay, umm, let's talk about this then."

"Okay, how do you feel about it?"

"Well, I've been thinking about it lately, b-but I don't think I can get pregnant again. I mean, you know what happen while I was in labor with Zach..."

"Yeah."

_**Flashback**__(Santana: Almost 18 years before)_

"Keep pushing, Santana." She heard the doctor say to her.

"I can't." She yelled out.

"Keep going. Breathe." Matthew whispered.

"Just one more big push." The doctor said.

Santana pushed big one more time as her son entered the world.

An hour later, Santana was holding her little boy. She was tired, but she was recovering.

"She lost a lot of blood." She heard the nurse tell the doctor softly outside the door.

She sighed while nodding her head.

"She almost passed out during that last push," she told the nurse.

"So, what does this mean?"

The doctor sighed again.

"I'm going to have to break it to her that she shouldn't have anymore kids."

"He's so small." She commented.

"He was born at six and a half months into her pregnancy. He still considered a premature baby." The doctor said.

When the doctor came in and told Santana the news, she nodded understandingly. She had just graduated from high school. She had been basically disowned by her parents. She didn't know what she was going to do.

For the first time in her life, she felt so small, so insecure, and so alone.

_**Flashback Ended**_

"What if I get pregnant?" Brittany asked bringing her wife out of her thoughts.

"What about your job?"

"I just got tenured. Besides, my older sister is engaged to the principal. So I have a little pull."

"Do you _want _to be pregnant?"

"I want a family with you, baby. So whether that be adopting or me being pregnant, then that's what we'll do."

"You wanna raise a kid with me?"

"I've been dreaming about it since I was 13."

Santana pulled Brittany into a deep, passionate kiss.

"I love you so much, Brittany Lopez."

"I love _you _so much, Santana Lopez."

* * *

It was 2am and Riley was sitting watching television in her room while drinking some hot tea. She was watching a rerun of some show that she didn't know. She then gets a text message.

_Taylor:_

_Hey babe! Not to be super creepy or anything, but look out your window._

_Sent: Friday, May 18__th__ 2:04am_

Riley looked out her window to see her girlfriend in the tree outside her window. She opened it to let her in.

"What the fuck are you doing babe?" Riley hissed.

"I missed you and needed to see you."

"Get in here."

Taylor climbed in the window and kissed her girlfriend hard.

"Okay...so what made you climb a tree at 2am to see me?"

"I missed you."

"I missed you too. Is everything okay?"

"M-my mom..."

"What about her sweetie?"

"That one day when we were making out getting ready to head out and see that cheesy, romantic movie, my stepdad called me to tell me that m-my m-mom had a heart attack."

"Oh baby..."

"I wanted to tell you once I had all the information, b-but t-then she went into surgery and..."

"And what baby?"

"She's gone, she didn't make it through surgery and now my brother and I are moving to Sacramento to live with our dad."

"W-what?"

"Can you do long distance?"

"I-I think I can."

"I love you."

"I love you too. When do you leave?"

"Sunday."

"Okay, okay."

Taylor lied there as she wrapped Riley in her arms as they continued to watch television together.

* * *

It was 8:30am when Brittany got out of bed. She went downstairs to make coffee. Santana joined her a few minutes later.

Santana wrapped her arms around Brittany's waist as the blonde made coffee.

"Good morning, baby." Brittany whispered.

"Good morning, beautiful." Santana whispered back.

Brittany turns in her wife's arms and wraps her own arms around the brunette's neck.

"I love you." Brittany said as she leaned in to kiss her wife.

Santana moaned.

"I love you too, Britt-Britt." Santana said as she leaned in to begin a make out session.

Their somewhat intimate moment was interrupted by Zach coming in.

"Woah. You'd think one of you is pregnant with how horny you two are all the time," he joked.

Brittany pulled away when Santana winced.

"He was joking, baby." Brittany whispered.

Santana breathed out. Taking several more breaths.

"It was a joke, Mama."

"Sorry, mijo."

Zach poured himself a cup of coffee.

"It's alright. C-can I t-talk to you about something?"

"Sure." The three moved to the table. "What's up, mijo?"

"I-I g-got a call yesterday before the ceremony. M-my dad i-is missing in action."

"Oh,wow."

For Zach, the most interesting in the room was his cup of coffee. For Santana, the most interesting thing in the room was her handhold with Brittany and her wedding ring. For Brittany, the most interesting thing in the room was the placemat on the table.

"He could be dead," he whispered.

Santana shot up and walked over to her son's side, embracing him as he tried to hold himself together.

"It's okay. He'll be okay." She kept whispering to him over and over.

"You don't know that!" Zach shot up. "Just like Ashleigh and her dad don't know if he's coming back or not!"

Zach picked up his coffee and left.

Santana locked eyes with Brittany, who just shrugged.

"He's been up all night. Let him rest a little before my family gets here."

"Okay."

* * *

Brittany knocked on Riley's door an hour later. She opened it to find her baby girl wrapped up in Taylor's arms.

Brittany smiled at her daughter and her girlfriend.

"Baby girl..." Brittany gently shook her daughter.

"Hm?" Riley's eyes shoot open.

"Hey. When did Taylor get here?"

"Late last night. Please don't be mad."

"No, I, uh, heard about her mom."

"Damn, you Lincoln Prep people like to talk."

"She's one of my students." Brittany shrugged.

"She leaves Sunday and I know this weekend is supposed to be all about Zach, but Taylor and I haven't had much time together lately..."

"Just come down occasionally, okay? To at least say hi to your grandparents and spend a little time with them. Please?"

"Okay."

Brittany leaned down and kissed her daughter's forehead as Taylor started to stir.

"Oh h-hi, Brittany." Taylor groggily said.

"Hi sweetie, how are you doing?"

"Somewhat better."

"I'm glad. Guidance Counselor Fabray said you were a little bit of a mess the other day."

"It's been a long, emotional few weeks."

"I'm here for you if you need it," Brittany said brushing some hair out of Taylor's eyes, "does your stepdad know you're here?"

"Yeah. He told me to spend as much time with Riley before I go."

"Okay. Well, I'll leave you two be then." Brittany got up and headed out of the room. She turned around at the door, "And I mean it Taylor, I'm here. I know you have your stepmom in Sacramento, but I've always considered you like another daughter."

"Thank you, Brittany."

Brittany walked out of the room and Riley looked at Taylor.

"I love you, Tay."

"I love you too, Ri."

Riley leaned over and kissed her girlfriend.

* * *

Zach came out of his room and walked saw that his mom was in her office. He knocked on her office door.

"Come in." He heard his mother call.

He opened the door and stepped in. Closing the door behind him.

"Hey mijo."

"I just wanted to apologize for this morning."

"What about this morning?"

"Mom, please don't play stupid."

"No, really, I don't know what you're talking about. All I remember happening is my baby boy exhausted from partying up his high school graduation and worried about his father."

"I shouldn't have snapped like that."

"It's okay, mijo. Really."

Santana got up and gave him a hug.

"I love you, Mom." He whispered.

"I love you too, mijo." She whispered back, embracing him tighter. "Are you ready for a weekend of crazy celebration?"

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

The mother/son duo left the embrace and headed out toward downstairs where Brittany's family was already there celebrating.

* * *

Zach was sitting on the back porch with a can of soda watching his stepmom's sisters stepchildren try to throw each other in the pool when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to find Brittany's older sister Jahna looking down at him.

"Hey." He said as she sat down.

"Hey, Britt told me about your dad."

Zach just shook his head.

"Yeah. I held it together through the ceremony and the sober grad night."

"Well it definitely explains why Ashleigh was a little more clingy than normal at the sober grad night."

"Yeah. Sorry about that."

"No, no. It's fine. How are you holding up?"

"I don't even know."

"You seem in between happy and sad."

"I just graduated from high school and for the first time in four years I'm not worried about school. But at the same time, I'm sad because my dad could be in another country dead." He shrugged.

"I'm sorry, Zach."

"It's okay." He shrugged.

Jahna didn't say anymore, knowing that he would just go back into himself is she did. She sat there lightly rubbing his back. Watching her fiancé's kids continue to try to throw each other in the pool.

* * *

Later on that night, Brittany found herself deep in her wife's arms. They were cuddling on the couch as Brittany's parents, sisters, and nephew, Jahna's son were sitting on the other couches drinking wine and a cup of Dr. Pepper for Jahna's son. Jahna's fiancé, Ethan and his four kids had gone home about a half an hour ago, Zach was in the kitchen cleaning some dishes, against Santana and Brittany's wishes, and Riley and Taylor were up in her room.

Santana was mindlessly running her fingers through Brittany's hair.

"So," Brittany's younger sister, Sarah said, "what's the plan for the rest of the weekend?"

"Our old Glee club is coming to celebrate tomorrow. Zach's friends and people from the label will be here Sunday." Santana softly said.

"Oh, that's cool."

Zach walked in and sat down next to Brittany. Brittany smiled at her stepson.

"You know, you're not supposed to be working this weekend." Brittany softly joked.

"I know, but I feel like I'm super lazy if I don't do something." He put his head in Brittany's lap. She then ran her fingers through his hair.

Michael and Vanessa stare at how maternal Brittany is with Zach and how soft and loving Santana is with Brittany.

The older couple shared a look. Vanessa rolled her lips in and Michael nodded. They were having a secret conversation that didn't go unnoticed by Santana.

"You two alright over there?" Santana softly asked her in-laws.

"Santana, I know my wife apologized to you at the ceremony last night, but I think we should do it properly."

"Um, what are you talking about Michael?"

"For the longest time, we knew that Brittany wasn't fully in love with Sam. But when he proposed to her before you all graduated, we saw how distant you got from her. We watched her go off to UCLA and we saw the look of pain on your face when she left with him. And then 14 years later, you came back. Vanessa and I didn't know why it took you that long. She had been divorced for about five years and then you show up into Los Angeles to start your label. She called us the day you two had coffee together in that coffee shop. I cringed at the thought of _you _the one who hurt my beautiful princess making her happy. Then we came out that first Christmas. We saw how you would just take her in your arms and make her the happiest person in the world..."

_**Flashback**__(Brittana First Christmas As A Couple: About Five Years Before)_

"Brittany, baby?" Santana called through Brittany's house.

"Hey love!" Brittany met her girlfriend with a kiss. "Hey Zach!" She playfully punched his arm.

"H-hi Ms- I mean Brittany." He said softly.

Michael and Vanessa had come out of the kitchen hesitantly.

"Hey Mr. and Mrs. Pierce." Santana said softly.

"Hey Santana." Michael said.

"Who's this?" Vanessa politely asked, gesturing towards Zach.

"Oh, you remember Zach, right?"

"Yeah, the last time we saw him, you had just given birth to him."

"Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Pierce." Zach hesitantly said.

"Hey Zach." Vanessa said softly.

"Well okay, we're almost done cooking dinner." Brittany said, "it should be ready in about a half an hour."

"Okay, Amor." Santana said.

Zach sat on the couch and put earbuds in his ears and was listening to his iPod while texting somebody. Santana went into the kitchen with Brittany and her parents to help finish making dinner.

Santana came behind Brittany and wrapped her arms around her waist. Brittany leaned back in her girlfriend's embrace.

"Can I help with anything, Mi Amor?"

"No, we're good. Thanks though, baby."

Michael and Vanessa saw how loving Santana was and how much she made their beautiful princess happy.

Later on that day, they saw Brittany sitting in Santana's lap. And they saw a genuine smile on their daughter's face. She was genuinely happy with Santana and they knew that they had to get used to it.

_**Flashback Ended**_

"...we saw how protective you were of her," Michael continued, "then we started questioning why we didn't like you. How we didn't like you. We used to _love _you. And now, we've decided to stop questioning it. You make our beautiful princess happy and that's all that should matter."

Santana got up and walked across the room to crouch in front of her in-laws. She took a deep breath.

"From the time Brittany mentioned that you only saw me as her best friend and not her wife, up until now, I questioned why you would lie to me when I asked for your blessing. Now I understand. I get it, I hurt your beautiful princess over there." Santana gestured to Brittany, who was still running her fingers through Zach's hair, "And I regret every single day that I did. I regret every single day that I didn't spend properly loving her. But now I have that opportunity and I'm not letting it go to waste." She softly smiled. "Thank you for being honest with me. It means a lot."

"You bet," Michael swallowed the lump in his throat.

Santana pulled both her in-laws in for individual hugs, happy to have finally found peace with them both.

The rest of the night was filled with laughter as they all sat around and talked. As Santana held Brittany and Brittany held Zach.

It was the start of a long celebration weekend.

* * *

**End Note: **A Glee Reunion is in the works for the next chapter! It'll be up soon.


	23. To Celebrate Again

**A/N:** Last part of the graduation arc! Enjoy!

* * *

The next morning, Zach woke up to a knock on his door.

"Come in," he said groggily while sitting up on his elbows. Quinn poked her head in. "Hey Aunt Quinn." He said still with a husky, sleep voice.

"Hey kid." Quinn said, shutting the door behind her and making her way over to her godson, cuddling into him.

Zach chuckled.

"We need to get you a man, Aunt Quinn." He joked.

"Why? When I have my godson to cuddle with."

"I don't think Ashleigh would appreciate you taking up all the cuddle time."

"You two are adorable together."

"Yeah?"

"Definitely."

"She'll be over today. Her folks are flying to DC, so I didn't want her to be alone."

"Cool. She's cool."

"Yeah, I like her."

"I'd hope so." They lied there in content for a little while. "I heard about your dad."

"Yeah." Zach was staring at the ceiling. "How are you taking it? I mean, he's your half-brother after all."

"It's hard. I was surprised that I didn't get a phone call."

"I guess he put me down as one of his only family members."

"Yeah, we've been distant from each other since you were born."

"Oh."

"It's not because of you though."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he hurt your mom. She's my best friend. I went my version of _Lima Heights _on his ass when he left you guys."

"That's scary."

Quinn chuckled.

"Yeah. I guess so."

They lied there in silence for a while until Santana knocked on the door.

"Come in." Zach called.

Santana walked into the room with breakfast smiling, she loved watching Zach and Quinn cuddle.

"Aww. Aren't you two adorable?"

"You brought me breakfast in bed?" Zach softly asked.

"Yeah... I was going to do it on the morning of your graduation, but business called me to New York."

"Thanks Mom."

The three sat there for a while talking. Zach didn't miss all the times his mom placed her hand on his knee and how many times his aunt cuddled further into him. He felt loved.

* * *

"Let's get this party started!" Puck yelled as he headed through the living room into the kitchen.

"Calm down, Puck." Santana said, holding Brittany from behind while the blonde sliced some fruit to put on the platter. Quinn was cutting more fruit on the other side of the island.

"Where's the graduate?" Puck asked placing a graduation gift on the table.

"He's upstairs still." Santana said, watching Brittany cut a piece of strawberry.

"Tell the valedictorian to come downstairs already." Puck said.

"Would people stop calling me that?" Zach said walking into the room.

"Well... you _are _a valedictorian. Following in your father's footsteps for sure." Puck said casually.

Zach froze as he opened the refrigerator. He knew that his Uncle Puck didn't know about his dad. Santana looked over her shoulder at her son, still frozen in place. She detached from Brittany to go comfort him.

"Mijo, it's okay. It's okay. Breathe. Please breathe." She wrapped arms around him. He relaxed in his mother's embrace. Zach took a few deep breaths. Santana turned to Puck, "His dad is missing in action. It's an even more of a touchy subject right now. Your nephew is under the impression that he's dead."

"Because he could be!" Zach suddenly yelled. Everyone looked over at him. "I get it, you know? Ya'll wanna look on the bright side of things! That's fine. He's your best friend!" He pointed at Puck. "He's your half-brother!" He pointed at Quinn who was setting the fruit platter down on the table. "He was the guy you never liked, but hid it because you were with one of his best friends and he was with your best friend." He pointed at Brittany who had put the knife down. "And he's the last guy you've ever dated!" He pointed at Santana who had went back to holding Brittany from behind. "But, he's _my _father!" He pointed at his chest with his thumb. "So excuse me, for thinking logically. Excuse me for playing devils advocate." He whispered the last part.

The kitchen went to an awkward silence. Brittany went back to cutting, Puck took a beer out of the cooler, Santana buried her face into Brittany's shoulder, and Quinn rearranged the table.

"Seriously?" Zach said, looking around at the four adults in the room.

"What mijo?"

"You all are going to act like that just didn't happen?"

"Well, you're right, babe." Brittany said. "We all are thinking on the bright side and while it's cool that you're thinking logically, we know there's only a 50/50 chance of his livelihood."

"Okay..." He still didn't know where Brittany was going.

"But, for us, we're looking positively because we know your dad is a fighter. We know he'll fight his way back here to see you go through college, get married, start a family, and have a career."

"There's still a-"

"50% chance that he won't come home, we know babe." Brittany put the knife down and stepped closer to him. "You are right, he's the guy that even though I was with Sam, stopped me from loving the love of my life. But, what have I said in class when Paul said that _Romeo and Juliet _had a depressing ending?"

Zach swallowed, "That you can't go on living life looking at the class half empty. You have to look at it half full."

"And what are you doing right now?"

Zach sighed, "Looking at the glass half empty."

"Exactly." Brittany said taking a step forward placing her hands on his shoulders. "Looking at life like that won't get you very far. I love you and I get it, you know? Thinking logically is something your dad would have done, but it's not always necessary." She pulled the boy into an embrace.

"I-I just w-want it all to make sense," he whispered only for Brittany to hear.

"I know, I know."

* * *

The Glee club was in the backyard catching up and celebrating Zach's graduation. Ashleigh was sitting in Zach's lap as she was sitting amongst the craziness of all of them reminiscing. To say the least, the were wasted. Totally wasted.

"...or remember that time where you and Quinn got into a bitch fight?" Puck said sitting across from Santana, who had Brittany on her lap.

"Yeah!" Quinn yelled drunkenly next to Puck. "I definitely won that one."

"Oh you wish Fabray! I totally beat your white ass." Santana spit back.

"Are they always like this?" Ashleigh quietly whispered into Zach's ear.

"Yeah and you think they're bad wasted. They're worse sober."

"They all went to high school together?" She asked.

"Yeah. Puck, Riley's dad, and my dad are like best friends. My mom, Brittany, and Quinn were considered the _Unholy Trinity_."

"Okay, so who's with who here?" She curiously whispered.

"Mike and Tina, the two Asians." He slightly pointed to them, "Kurt and Blaine, the two white boys with good hair and fashion." He slightly pointed at them. "Sam and that woman that I've never met before." He slightly gestured towards him. "Sam is Riley's dad. Finn is with the woman that he's sitting next to." He gestured with his head. "And of course my mom and Brittany." Zach took a swig of Dr. Pepper.

"So, everyone else is like in their mid-thirties and still single?" She asked and Zach then spit some soda back into the can. Coughing because he was laughing and choking.

"You alright over there, mijo?" Santana asked as she saw her son chocking.

"Yeah, yeah," he said through a laugh, "I'm good."

"That's the first real laugh that he's had in the last few days." Santana added. "Keep it up, Ash."

"Wait, the graduates not laughing?" Blaine asked.

"It's not because I don't want to it's just-" He looked around to everyone sitting at the table and then looked at his mom and Brittany, who just nodded. "Seven months ago, my dad came back into my life." Everyone, except, Santana, Brittany, Puck, and Quinn gasped. "For six months, he was there. Always a text message or a call away when I needed to have a man talk and Puck was working. He helped me chose USC. He helped me find the courage to ask Ashleigh out. We golfed, had coffee, went to Dodger games. We finally had the father/son relationship that I've always wanted. A month ago, he got his orders t-to Afghanistan. And a half an hour before the ceremony, I got a call from General Peters, saying that he's m-missing in a-action."

"Oh my god." Almost everyone gasped.

"Brittana!" Kurt yelled. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Okay, first off Lady Hummel, like I've gone over with my son over there many times, it's Santitany." Zach and Brittany rolled their eyes. "Even the crazy fans of our studio refer to us as that. And secondly, it's not our place to tell. This is Zach's relationship with his dad now. Not my somewhat relationship with my ex boyfriend. I've only talked to him two to three times since he's come back into the picture."

"Just because you hate his guts doesn't mean that he isn't apart of your life anymore." Sam argued.

"Really, Trouty Mouth? You seriously want to go there? Are you forgetting that he was the one that left me to raise a kid on my own? I haven't gotten a penny of child support from him since the day Zach was born. He came to me, first and asked if Zach could be back in his life." Taking a jab at him not doing that same thing with Brittany several months prior. "The military knocked some since in one of the most self-centered, arrogant people I know. Yeah, it took him awhile to come around, but it's true."

"Just because you never loved him doesn't mean-" Sam tried to argue.

"I never loved him?" Santana interrupted again. "If I never loved him tell me, why did I keep Zach? If I never loved him, tell me why I let him rush me to the _fucking _hospital after we graduated? If I never loved him, tell me, tell me why I still would do anything for him, just like Brittany would still do anything for you?"

"You were always in love with Brittany!" He finally yelled. "Just like she was always in love with you! But you were a coward in high school. You kept Zach because you know your parents would've disowned you more if you got an abortion! You let him rush you to the hospital right after we graduated because it was either him or your over-controlling parents! And I don't know why, after everything he's put you through, you'd still do anything for him!"

"I was a coward? You're right, I never loved Matt like I loved Brittany! Hell, I'll never love anyone like I love Brittany! But, you have no right, absolutely no right to tell me that I was never in love with the father of my child!"

Brittany nuzzled into her wife's neck, trying to calm her down. Matthew was a touchy subject for both Santana and Zach.

"Yeah? Then why did it take Kurt and Rachel to get you to follow your dream two years after high school?" He gestured between the two who were being really quiet, intrigued on how all of this was going down. Zach was looking completely confused, he'd never heard this side of the story before. "He offered for you to go with him and live a life as a military wife!"

"Oh because being a military wife was my dream?" Santana's eyebrows shot up. "Because the last time I checked, he was a military kid himself. You know, his dad was stationed at the Air Force base in Dayton before he was killed in the line of duty in Iraq? I wasn't going to let my son be a military kid."

"None of this changes anything," Sam softly said. "He could be dead."

"See!" Zach practically yelled, throwing his hand out.

"Zach-" Santana tried.

"No. When you accused me several months ago of wanting to move in with my dad, like what Riley did to Brittany, after the fact, you promised that my relationship with my father would be _my _relationship with _my _father. You said you were done with the bull shit that he brought to the table. You said you'd stay out of it." Zach was standing now, glaring at Santana.

"Wait," Mike said, "what did Riley do to Brittany?"

"Not relevant," Riley chimed in sitting next to her dad.

"Zach." Santana tried a softer approach.

"I need an out, Mama."

"Okay."

Santana and Zach always have that out when either one of them take things too far. It's where they both take some time to cool off before things got way out of hand.

Zach went inside, he knew if was out there for any longer, he'd start saying things he didn't mean. Ashleigh sat out there with her face in her hands grumbling, asking herself what did she start.

"You know, he's a lot like you," Sam said softly to Santana, "running away from his problems."

"He's not running away, Trouty Mouth." She spit back. "We have always had this thing where if one of us needs an out in the middle of an argument to cool down, a lot of the time it's so we don't start insulting each other in Spanish."

"You just let him walk away-" Sam started.

"To cool off!" Brittany was finally getting frustrated with her ex husband. "Unless you wanted to see a Spanish insult face-off, you're lucky he did! It gets ugly and that was not about to go down right now! This is supposed to be a happy, celebratory weekend for him! He _fucking _deserves it! You wanna know what the kid has had to go through in the last four years? I was his AP English teacher and I'll admit I was harder on him than any other student because I saw his potential! And yeah, I knew about the stupid bet him and Santana made his freshman year and wasn't going to let him get by easy! He was in all AP classes! He had the weight of the school on his shoulders for four damn straight years when it came to football! And all he wanted was this weekend to be _fucking _perfect! Then he gets a call thirty minutes before his ceremony with devastating news about his father being missing in action! And what? All of you remind Zach of him! He put on a strong face before you all got here! There's not much more he can take." Santana gently rocked her and Brittany back and forth. "You don't get it do you, Sam? You don't get how they work? How Santana and Zach work. How Matt and Zach work. How Santana and Matt work. They were never an official family, but don't even doubt for a minute that they aren't a family like you, me, and Riley are."

An awkward silence filled the backyard. All you could hear was the water coming out of the waterfall of the pool.

"Well, the escalated quickly," Tina finally said breaking the silence. Everyone chuckled.

Brittany looked over at Ashleigh who still had her face in her hands. She stood up and walked over to the girl and hugged her from behind. All the while, Quinn slipped inside to check on Zach.

* * *

Zach was sitting on the bed of his truck drinking a bottle of water. Quinn walked out and slowly made his way towards the boy.

"That sunset is beautiful." Quinn said sitting next to Zach.

"Yeah." The boy said smiling.

"Some party, huh?"

"Best graduation party I've ever gone to." He said sarcastically.

"I'm really sorry about your dad, sweetie."

"I know." Tears started to well up in his eyes.

Quinn wrapped her arm around him.

"You heard a lot tonight, you know? A lot that you probably haven't heard before. All of us in Glee club kicked your dad's ass for leaving you and your mom the way he did. And yeah maybe your mom loved Brittany more, but there was nothing she could do at the time. Sam and Brittany married the summer between high school and college. They came and lived here. Brittany had Riley in her second year of college. Your mom went to New York and worked two dead end jobs before Kurt and Rachel told her that she was capable of more and they would help her by watching you."

"Aunt Rachel and I got close before we moved out here." He said softly.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." He smiled with a shrug. "We lived with them for the majority of the time we lived in New York. It's kind of why I have a deep appreciation for Broadway musicals like Annie, Wicked, and Rent. You tell anyone that though I'll deny it faster than anything. I learned how to play the guitar when Blaine came around. He taught me because I was bored one night and I picked up on it super easy."

"Is that why your mom had you play the guitar when she proposed to Brittany?"

"Yeah." Zach said with a laugh.

**_Flashback_** (A_ year and a half before: Brittana Proposal)_

Santana and Brittany were celebrating being together for two years. They were having a small party at a small diner on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Santana had to go early and set everything up. She was going to propose to Brittany and her son was being a lot of help.

Zach went to go pick up Brittany and Riley. Brittany didn't quite understand why, but she didn't fight with her girlfriend.

Zach pulled up to Brittany's house and took a deep breath. He enjoyed the complete silence for one more minute before heading in.

He knocked on the door and walked in.

"Hello?" He called through the entryway of the house.

"Hey Zach."

"Hi Ms- I mean Brittany." He was still getting used to calling her Ms. Evans on campus and Brittany off. It was confusing for the both of them sometimes, but they both made the best of it.

"Riley, honey!" Brittany called up the stairs.

"Coming!" She called from her room.

"So, how are you Zach?" Brittany was trying to make small talk.

"Fine." He softly said. He felt kind of guilty because during the class discussion in Brittany's class he made it pretty heated with his opinions in who is most responsible for the death of Romeo and Juliet. Brittany literally had to end the discussion because it was getting way out of hand.

Riley came down and broke the awkwardness. The three headed out.

The car ride was unbelievably awkward. Zach had a rock station on low on the radio. The car was irrupted by the built in bluetooth. It was Santana.

"Hello?"

"Hey mijo, it's Mom."

"Hey Mom, we're about five minutes away." He said, looking over his shoulder, changing lanes.

"So, you have Brittany and Riley?"

"Hey baby!" Brittany said.

"Hey Britt-Britt. My boy's being good right? He was in a little bit of a bad mood when he came home this afternoon."

Zach rolled his eyes.

"I can still hear you, you know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know, mijo. Relax."

Brittany saw how his shoulders actually did relax.

"I'm pulling off the 99 right now. We should be there in about 3 minutes."

"Okay, people are starting to arrive."

"Okay, see you soon!"

"Bye mijo, baby, and Riley."

"Bye." The car said in unison.

A few hours go by and Santana was standing up on this portable stage behind a microphone and Zach was sitting on a bar stool with his acoustic guitar on his lap.

"Hey everyone, before I say anything else, Brittany and I just want you to know that we're all glad that you're here. Thank you and for our friends that flew out for the weekend from New York, we appreciate you taking the time. So as you can see, my son has a guitar on his lap, and we both have been working hard for on this for Brittany. You ready mijo?"

Zach nods his head and starts to strum.

_For you, there'll be no more crying,  
For you, the sun will be shining,  
And I feel that when I'm with you,  
It's alright, I know it's right_

To you, I'll give the world  
To you, I'll never be cold  
'Cause I feel that when I'm with you,  
It's alright, I know it's right.

And the songbirds are singing,  
Like they know the score,  
And I love you, I love you, I love you,  
Like never before.

And I wish you all the love in the world,  
But most of all, I wish it from myself.

And the songbirds keep singing,  
Like they know the score,  
And I love you, I love you, I love you,  
Like never before, like never before.

Santana, who was now in front of Brittany with the microphone, both with tears in their eyes, got down on one knee.

"Brittany, I may have never had the guts to ask you this sixteen years ago. I may never had the guts to tell you how I really felt. It's been was a long fourteen years with you. I didn't know how I made it through because I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me, Britt-Britt?"

Brittany nodded.

"Yes. Yes, I'll marry you!"

Santana placed the ring on Brittany's finger and leaned in to kiss Brittany.

_**Flashback Ended**_

"Your mom always loved her. Your dad and Sam saw that. The rest of the Glee club saw that. The two of them were the only ones oblivious. But, none of that changes the fact that your mom loves you. She loves you so much. She just wants you to let her in."

"I'll definitely will try."

Quinn hugged him tighter, they sat there watching the sunset before Ashleigh came out looking for them.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt, but your mom wants to cut the cake and doesn't want to do it without the graduates."

"Okay, coming babe." Zach said softly.

The two jumped off the bed of the truck and went inside. It was quieter, everyone just acted like the argument didn't happen. But, there was still an underlying guilt that is within Ashleigh, knowing that making her boy laugh caused everything to go down. Everything that was said. Zach noticed his girlfriend's tension and cupped her hand and held her close all night.

* * *

The next morning, Zach woke up on the couch. Ashleigh had slept over and he let her sleep in his bed and took the couch. Like a gentleman. He heard his mom in the kitchen so he got up and joined her.

"Hey Mama."

"Hey mijo." She said as she poured him a cup of coffee.

"Can we talk?"

"I was hoping so." She moved to the table.

"What I said yesterday, I-I'm sorry."

"No, you were right. We agreed to let your dad only be in your life because I'm done dealing with the bullshit."

"But, how I said it, in front of everyone-"

"Okay, you're right. But, I would've done the same thing. And you know what, you admitted that you needed an out before the Spanish insult face-off. I'm proud of you mijo."

"I miss him, Mama." He blurted out with tears in his eyes.

"I know you do, mijo. Come here." Santana scooted back and opened her arms for her baby boy to fall in. He started crying and it was pretty ugly. Santana rocked her son back and forth. Remembering one of the first times he was in this position. The morning that she had to tell him that his dad left and most likely wouldn't be coming back.

_**Flashback**_ (Lopez-Hummel-Anderson-Berry_ Household – About Ten Years Ago)_

Santana was staring out the window watching the morning commute traffic with a cup of coffee in her hand. Matt had left the night before saying that he only came back to get her back not necessarily to be a father. She had to break the news to Zach that his dad wasn't coming back.

The two lived with Rachel, Kurt, and Blaine. Santana had just gotten an internship at a recording company and was learning the ropes. Rachel, Kurt, and Blaine helped her out by willingly watching Zach when she was at work.

Blaine had come out smelling the coffee from his and Kurt's room. He saw Santana staring out the window. At this point and time, the two didn't really talk unless absolutely necessary. Santana still scared Blaine a little with her strong personality.

"Good morning Santana." He spoke softly.

"Morning Blaine."

"So if you don't mind me asking, where's the Brigadier General? He was here when we all went to bed last night."

"He left."

"Oh."

"He only came back to get me back." She said softly sipping her coffee.

"So all those promises he made Zach?"

"Broken."

"I'm sorry Santana."

"And the worst part of it all is that he left me to do it by myself."

"Wow, what a douche."

"That's a nicer way of saying what I was thinking." She said through a small chuckle.

About an hour later, Zach came out stretching and yawning, like he did every morning. He expected to see his dad in the kitchen with his mom, but all he saw was his Uncle Blaine and his mom talking.

"Hey kiddo." Blaine said looking at Zach behind Santana.

Santana's heart dropped as she turned around.

"Hi my sweet boy." She said patting her lap for him to come sit in.

"Where's my dad?"

Santana sighed.

"Your dad had to leave. The military wanted him to go fight bad guys."

"I-is he coming back?"

Santana sighed and looked up at Blaine who had agreed to be her support in the situation.

"Mijo, I won't lie to you. It doesn't look like it."

"B-but, he promised! He promised to take me to the Dodger and Yankee game! He promised me that he would be there for my first day of school! He promised he wouldn't leave again! He promised me-" He stopped mid-sentence and started to cry.

Santana brought him in closer and rocked him back and forth. Blaine then got up and made the boy his favorite breakfast as Santana attempted to calm him down.

"I love you, mijo." She whispered softly. "I love you. I won't leave you. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. I love you, mijo."

Zach had calmed down just in time for Blaine to place a a plate of waffles, sausages, and scrambled eggs in front of him.

"Thank you, Uncle Blaine." He says softly.

"You're welcome champ."

For the rest of the day, Zach stayed by his mom's side and she just held her baby boy.

_**Flashback Ended**_

"It's okay mijo. Just let it out. I love you. I'm here. I'm not leaving. I love you. I'm not going anywhere. It's okay mijo."

She was comforting her son. Silence filled the kitchen when Brittany walked in.

"What's going on?" The blonde mouthed to her brunette.

"He's finally breaking down." She mouthed back.

"Should I make waffles, sausage, and scrambled eggs?" She mouthed.

Santana nodded her head, smiling because her wife knew her son just as much as she did. She went to the stove and started to make breakfast.

Zach sat up when Brittany placed a plate in front of him.

"Thank you Brittany." He said softly.

"You're welcome babe."

Zach ate in silence and was almost done when Ashleigh walked in and kissed his cheek as she sat next to him.

The rest of the day, Zach went between holding his girlfriend to having his mom hold him. He finally had the good cry he'd been needing all along. He couldn't care less that all of his friends were around to see his mom hold him. He needed that motherly love that only she could seem to give him when it came to his dad.

"_What a way to start the new chapter of my life," Zach thought._

* * *

**End Note: **So that was kind of intense. Hope you liked it. Anyway next up on TCTDA:

Summer vacation, more Brittana (otherwise known as Santitany) baby talk, and more! Stick with me!

If you wanna talk TCTDA or just say hi, hit me up on tumblr: **guitarkiddodgerfan**

Oh and for obvious reasons, I don't own the song Songbird or any Glee characters, just my original characters and the content of this story!


	24. To Turn Another Year Older Again

**A/N: **Sorry for a late update! This was supposed to be to you guys some time last week, but I was in final-prep hell. So I only found time to write after my finals were over on Monday. So, updates maybe more frequent now that I'm on summer break.

* * *

Santana woke up to a humming sound in her ear. She opened her eyes to see that her wife was in her arms staring at her with a smile on her face.

"Morning beautiful." Santana said in a husky, sleepy voice.

"Morning baby." Brittany started to attack her wife's neck.

Santana moaned.

"Whatcha doing Britt-Britt?"

"Wishing my beautiful, sexy wife a happy birthday." She whispered seductively in her ear before going back to sucking at her wife's pulse point.

"But, it's not my birthday, it's Zach's birthday."

"Well then I'm wishing you a _happy giving birth to one of the coolest kids I know day._"

Santana moaned. Brittany continued her assault on Santana's neck as she slipped two fingers past her wife's boy shorts and underwear.

"_Oh... Britt-Britt!_"

"Does that feel good Sanny?"

"K-keep g-going!" Santana said, tightly grabbing Brittany's ass.

"Does that feel good, baby?"

"Mhm." Is all that Santana managed to get out. "I'm close."

"I love you Sanny. Come for me. Come all over my fingers, baby." Brittany whispered in her wife's ear. Thrusting in and out.

"Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. I-I'm coming. _Brittany!_"

Brittany pulled her fingers out of her wife's core and snuggled into her. Santana was lying there trying to catch her breath.

"I love you, San."

"I love you too, Britt-Britt. Is it weird that you're celebrating me giving birth to Zach and not him."

"Oh, I have a full day planned for him."

"Yeah?" Santana said, running her fingers through blonde locks.

"Yeah, with you at work, Ash in DC for the summer, and Riley in Sacramento for the next few days, I've already claim this day as Zach/Brittany day."

"Does he know this?"

"Yeah. I asked him if he had any plans today and he said he was going to spend the day playing Madden, Call of Duty, and Halo. I told him that I wanted to celebrate his birthday with him. It'll be like a mother/son like date day." Brittany slowly smiled.

"That sounds great Britt-Britt." Santana said softly.

"What's the plan for tonight?"

"A steak dinner for three at his favorite restaurant overlooking the Pacific."

"Aww."

"Yeah. He's been through a lot lately. I just want today to be good for him."

"Well, we should get up and get today started."

"After round two in the shower? I have a favor to return." Santana said with a wink.

"Ohh. I like the way you think baby." Brittany said with a smile.

* * *

Santana and Brittany walked downstairs hand-in-hand. Zach was leaning against the counter drinking coffee and reading the Los Angeles Times.

"Good morning birthday boy!" Brittany chirped. A little too much for Zach to handle.

"Morning Brittany." He mumbled behind his coffee mug.

"Happy birthday mijo." Santana said kissing his cheek.

She had been doing that a lot more. Kissing his cheek. Hugging him constantly. It was starting to confuse the hell out of Zach. The last time he checked, the only person that his mom was sweetly, affectionate with was Brittany, and Brittany only.

"Thanks Mama."

He had been calling her that a lot lately. It made her heart swoon. She loved it when Zach called her Mama.

The threesome sat at the table with coffee.

"So, I was thinking that maybe, you could teach me how to surf today?" Brittany asked Zach.

"S-sure. I m-mean if my mom's okay with it."

"Why wouldn't I be?" Santana asked.

"Well, if it were Ashleigh, I would want to teach her how to surf not have you do it. I don't want to steal your thunder."

"Naw, mijo. It's fine. Besides once your in school full time, studying, and stuff, it'd be nice if I can have a secondary surf buddy." Santana nudged Brittany's foot with her own. Brittany smiled as the two started playing footsie under the table.

"Okay." Zach said drinking his coffee.

The three had light conversation throughout the rest of breakfast.

* * *

Santana and Brittany were getting ready for their days. Santana came behind Brittany and just held her. The couple stood and swayed back and forth for a few moments.

"I can't wait for our appointment with Dr. Montgomery tomorrow." Brittany whispered.

"I'm looking forward in being a mom with you, Britt-Britt." Santana whispered back.

Brittany turned in her arms and wrapped her arms around her wife's neck.

"You are?"

"Yeah, I wanna be called Mama a lot more than what Zach is calling me _annd _I want to raise a kid with you."

Brittany leaned in for a kiss.

"You should get to work now," Brittany whispered as she rested her forehead against her wife's.

"I know. I love you, beautiful."

"I love you too, baby." The couple stared into each other's eyes for a few minutes. "You should go to work before we start another round."

"Okay," Santana leaned in and kissed Brittany, "Have a good day with the birthday boy."

"Are we meeting you at the restaurant?"

"Yeah, I have an all day sesh today to make up for the fact I'm missing tomorrow."

"I love that you're so whipped that you'll do anything for me."

"I just want my baby happy." Santana said shrugging her shoulders with a sheepish smile.

"Oh, your baby is _so_ happy." Brittany leaned in for another kiss.

* * *

"So all you have to do is paddle and then once the wave catches up to you, grab both sides of the board and jump to your feet." Zach softly instructed.

"That sounds kinda easy."

"It is once you get the hang of it. You ready?"

"Yeah, let's go."

Brittany picked up Santana's surf board and headed towards the water. Zach was close behind. The two paddled out far enough and waited for a wave.

They were sitting and waiting.

"So, what got you into surfing?" Brittany asked, inquisitively.

"When we first moved here, it was summer time. My mom was looking for something to do. She got us both surf lessons and then it just became what we did together."

"Thank you for willing to share this with me." She said softly.

"Thank you for never giving up on me." He responded softly.

"What do you mean?" Brittany cocked her head to the side.

"Freshman year when I got into a lot of trouble because I was mad that you were with my mom or the beginning of senior year when I was mad at you making my mom so happy. Everything in between. Thank you."

"You're welcome babe."

Zach looked behind him and saw a wave coming.

"You ready for your first wave?"

"You know it!"

The stepmother/stepson duo started paddling to catch the wave. When Brittany stood up for the first time, Zach smiled. He was honored that he was able to teach his stepmom how to surf. She turned around when she fell and he smiled at his stepmom.

The two surfed for the majority of the afternoon.

* * *

That night, Santana was waiting for two of her favorite people to show up. She was checking her phone when they arrived. She stood up when they arrive. Kissing Brittany and hugging Zach.

Santana pulled the chair out for Brittany to sit in while Zach quietly sat down across from them. To be honest, Zach felt like a third wheel on a date with the way that his mom and Brittany were looking at each other.

"So, how was your day today, baby?" Brittany asked.

"Long, but good I guess. How was your guys' day?"

"Good. Your kid here is a great teacher." Brittany gently nudged Zach with her foot.

"I'm decent," he said softly, ducking his head.

Brittany placed her hand on Santana's knee.

"So, I already ordered knowing what you wanted." Santana said.

"Thanks Mama." Zach softly spoke.

"Yeah, thanks baby." Brittany said leaning over to kiss Santana's cheek.

Zach was staring out at the ocean where the sun was almost completely set.

Santana saw how quiet her son was being that night and softly kicked him to get his attention.

"Mijo?"

"Hm? Yeah?"

"You okay?"

"Yeah, a little tired that's all."

"Yup, late last night?"

"Yeah. Playing Madden online with Uncle Puck."

"No wonder he seemed so tired today."

"He considers it bonding." Zach said with a shrug, looking back out to the sun setting.

"Well, I'm glad you have your Uncle Puck to bond with."

"Yeah," he whispered.

"Are you sure you're okay, mijo?"

"Yeah, just kind of taking it all in."

"Taking what in babe?" Brittany asked.

"Life. The beautiful view." He gestured towards the sunset.

"Yeah, that is pretty beautiful." Santana said, wrapping her arm around Brittany, as the blonde placed her head on the brunette's shoulder.

"I've actually never been here before." Brittany said.

"Yeah, this is where Zach takes me for our mother/son dates and where I take him for his mother/son birthday dinner. It's kind of been our spot since moving here."

"Wow," Brittany said looking at Zach, "you're sharing a lot with me today. First the surfing and now this?"

Zach shrugged a shoulder.

"It's whatever." He said with a sheepish smile on his face.

"This is actually the place where I gave him the keys to his truck on his 16th birthday." Santana said smiling.

"Oh yeah," Zach said with a cheesy grin on his face.

**_Flashback _**_(Zach's Sweet Sixteen: Two Years Before)_

"So is this a mother/son date where I'm paying or is this a let's-celebrate-Zach's-birthday where Mommy's paying?" Zach asked looking over the menu.

"I'm paying, Mijo." Santana said through a chuckle before taking a sip of her wine.

"Okay. So any reason why you hired your driver to pick me up from work?"

"I just wanted to make things special for you."

Zach nodded his head. Silence filled the mother/son duo for a few moments.

"So how's Brittany?" Zach asked.

"She's good. She says happy birthday."

"Oh, okay."

"I still don't get why you don't like her." Santana said taking another sip of her wine.

"It's not that I don't like her, it's just, you know, every time I look at her in class, I think of the fact that you two are dating, and I hate to break it to you, but when she spends the night, you two aren't as quite as you could be, which in return, in class, I'm reminded that you two are intimate."

"I didn't realize that it made you feel uncomfortable."

"No, I couldn't care less if you two are dating. She makes you happy. Happier than I've seen you in my entire life. The only thing that makes me feel uncomfortable is her screaming your name."

Santana shut her eyes and sighed. And, in that moment, Santana made a note to either be quieter or do it when he's not around.

"I'm so sorry, mijo." She reached across the table to grab his hand.

"You love her, don't you?"

"Ever since I could remember."

And, that's when Zach secretly vowed to himself that he would never mention how much he didn't like Brittany and why.

The dinner was in relative silence when the food got there. When they were finished eating, Santana gave him a small box.

"Happy birthday mijo." She said with a small smile on her face.

Zach rose an eyebrow as he took the box to open it. When he opened it he saw a key.

"What's this to?" He asked, hesitantly.

"Your brand new 2028 Toyota Tacoma."

"You got me a car? Before my drivers test?"

"Yeah, figured that you'd want to drive that instead of my BMW."

Zach gets up and hugs his mom.

"Thank you, Mama."

"You're welcome mijo."

_**Flashback Ended**_

"You two are so cute." Brittany said bringing them out of their thoughts. "I've never seen a mother/son duo bond over for steak for big _and _little things."

"It makes up for all those times that he had to cuddle into his Aunt Rachel instead of his mama. Huh, mijo?"

"Sure does." He said with a small smile.

"What do you mean?" Brittany curiously asked.

"When I first started out in the business, I was what you call a workaholic. I would always work late and I barely saw my kid. Rachel, Kurt, and Blaine were willing enough to help me out with him, but I still felt like a horrible parent. He got into a lot of trouble in middle school. Mainly because he wasn't challenged enough, but partly because I wasn't there and he missed me."

"It wasn't until the middle of my eighth grade year that she realized that she had to do something."

"What made you realize it?"

"I had a day off, for the first time in God knows when, I was watching some television show when I got a phone call saying that my son had been in a fight."

**_Flashback _**_(Zach – Age: 13)_

Santana was watching television when her phone rang. She recognized it to be John Adams Preparatory Academy. Which meant two things: one, Zach was I trouble or two, he was hurt or sick.

"This is Santana Lopez." She answered her phone.

_"Hi, Ms. Lopez. It's Vice Principal Brown from John Adams Prep."_

"Oh, hi. How can I help you?"

_"Your son was involved in a fight and is sitting inside my office. I was wondering if you could come down or do I need to call Ms. Berry again."_

"No, no. I can come down."

_"Okay."_

"Goodbye."

_"Goodbye."_

Santana turned off the television and got up to change out of her boy shorts and t-shirt that she was wearing because she didn't have any plans on leaving the loft that day.

When she finally changes and makes her way to John Adams Preparatory Academy right outside of _Brooklyn. Rachel and Kurt were helping her put her son through the best education possible._

When Santana walked into the administration office, she felt a ping of anxiety came over her. They would normally call her, who she would then say she would be sending Rachel because she couldn't get away from work, and Rachel would deal with the aftermath, which Santana would admit, she felt sorry for.

She walked into the Vice Principal's office and saw her son with an ice pack on his eye and broken glasses in his lap.

"Uh, hi, I'm Santana Lopez."

"Ahh, yes, Ms. Lopez. Come in, shut the door behind you please and take a seat."

She shut the door and sat next to her son.

"So, um, what happened?" Santana asked, inwardly cursing her son because she had just bought him the pair of glasses that were now broken on his lap.

"According to the hallway security cameras, to prevent stuff like this from happening, he was cornered by three of his peers outside his classroom and was pretty much jumped."

"So, he was involved in this fight, how?"

"From the footage we have, he defended himself. And we have a zero-tolerance policy to fighting here at John Adams Preparatory Academy. Now, since we have proof that he didn't instigate the fight. We are suspending him for two days."

"And the boys who instigated the fight?" Santana said as soft as she could.

"They have been suspended for a week and a half."

"That sounds fair." Santana said.

"Mr. Lopez?" Vice Principal Brown said getting his attention.

"Yeah?" He managed to get out. Santana noticed how hoarse his voice sounded like he's been crying.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Just in pain that's all."

"Okay."

"Are we good here?" Santana asked the vice principal.

"Yeah, you're good to go."

Santana stood up and saw that her son was slowly getting up and saw him limping towards the door. She immediately went to him and wrapped her arm around his shoulders and grabbed his backpack and put it over her shoulder.

The twenty-five minute drive home was in a relative silence until Zach finally spoke up.

"I'm sorry."

"What for mijo? You defended yourself. I'm not mad. We should probably get your leg checked out though. Maybe Uncle Blaine could look at it when he gets home." Santana said, remembering that Blaine was a doctor.

"How are you not mad?"

"I would be mad if you instigated it or didn't defend yourself."

She put her hand on her son's shoulder. The car fell silent again.

"Why did they jump you?" Santana asked, curiously.

He shrugged.

"I don't know. They've been doing it since Parent Day at school when I showed up by myself without a parent. Making fun of me because you have never showed up to these things and they make jokes about how you must not love me or that I'm an orphan because you're never around."

Santana's heart broke. She knew in that moment, she had to do something.

Later that evening, Zach was curled into his mom when Blaine got home.

"Hey guys." He said seeing the Lopez duo cuddled on the couch.

"Hey Blaine." Santana said.

Blaine looked at Zach's elevated leg and how Santana's arm was protectively around his shoulders.

"What happened?"

"Three guys cornered him outside one of his classes and basically jumped him and he defended himself. And I guess one of them most have tripped him or something because he can barely put pressure on his leg."

"Can I take a look at it?"

"I was hoping you would."

"Okay." He knelt down to get in eye-level of Zach. "Hey champ. Can you stand up for me please?"

Zach slowly stood up with the help of both Santana and Blaine.

"U-uncle Blaine, it hurts."

"Where does it hurt, champ?" He and Santana put him back down.

"From my knee down."

"Okay, we're going to elevate and ice it and see how you feel in the morning, sound good, champ?"

"Y-yeah." He said curling into Santana again.

"Alright. Have you guys had dinner yet?"

"Not yet," Santana said holding her son, "I was just trying to figure out what we were going to be having."

"I was thinking about ordering some Chinese. You two down?"

"Yeah."

Just as Blaine was walking away to order dinner, Zach had fallen asleep, and Santana's phone rang.

_Incoming Call: Noah Puckerman_

_"__What's up Puckerman?"_

_"__Hey Lopez, you gotta moment?"_

"Yeah, what's up?"

_"__I hear you've dived hear first into studio engineering."_

"Yeah, a big record company offered me a chance. Couldn't turn it down, you know?"

_"__Yeah, I feel ya. So, I do have a reason for me calling."_

"I kinda figured that." She said with a chuckle, while running her fingers through Zach's hair.

_"__I'm starting my own record label and I want you to help me out."_

"Really?"

_"__Yeah and I was talking with Finn the other day, who had talked to Kurt. Seems that you've been working your ass off."_

"I have a kid to provide for, bills to pay."

_"__I know. How's my nephew doing?"_

"Umm, he's hanging in there. I guess this job is taking a toll on him emotionally and socially."

_"__Socially? Like how?"_

"Kids are making fun of him at school. Saying that I obviously don't love him or that he's an orphan child because I never come to Parent Day or stuff like that at school."

_"__Damn, that's low."_

"He basically got jumped today," Santana said with a hint of brokenness in her voice.

_"__Is he okay?"_

"Yeah, he defended himself."

_"__Okay, so anyway, would you wanna help me? I mean, I know in the past that I have never done anything for you to want to, but I heard a track that you produced."_

"How?"

_"__You just produced James Lewinsky's single, right?"_

"Yeah."

_"__I know how hard you work, Lopez. I know you won't stop until the jobs done. Please? I'll let you set your own salary, work hours, etc. Give you co-ownership You can be there for your son. Please?"_

Thirty seconds of silence washed over the phone before Santana sighed.

_"__We could have a whole new start." __Santana thought. __"__I could be there for Zach."_

"Can Zach at least finish middle school here before we move all the way across the country?"

_"__Of course! Does that mean it's a yes?"_

"Yeah. We'll work out details later? I'm kinda in the middle of taking care of my son."

_"__For sure. Thank you, Lopez. Let him know that Uncle Puck loves him."_

"For sure."

_"__Bye."_

"Goodbye."

Santana hung up the phone and sighed. A new start with her son is exactly what she needs. She pulled him closer as he slept on her chest. She kissed his head. Knowing that everything would be okay. They were going to start new in Los Angeles, California.

_**Flashback Ended**_

"Wow." Brittany said as she was digging into her fettuccine alfredo. "So you guys' deep mother/son bond started here?"

"Yeah." Santana said, cutting into her medium rare steak. "Everything started here."

Zach nodded taking his first bite of his rare steak.

"So anyway, now that we've gone down memory lane, a little." Santana said. "Mijo, Britt and I have a present for you."

"Okay?"

"So, we know that you will probably want to get away when you're at USC and just be alone." Brittany said.

"Yeah?"

"And maybe even take Ashleigh to for a nice, private place for a romantic date night." Santana said.

"And, when Sam and I were married, he had a little place he called his man caveor whatever you want to call it." Brittany added.

"Remember our old two bedroom apartment, somewhat near the USC campus?"

"Yeah?"

"I, with the help from Brittany, bought that apartment."

"Like the apartment complex or just the place where we lived?"

"Just the place where we lived." Santana handed him a small box with a key in it. "If you ever need a place just to get away or have an opportunity after freshman year to live off campus, you have one. Happy birthday mijo."

"Yeah, happy birthday, babe." Brittany added.

"Wow, thank you guys." He got up to give his mom and stepmom a hug.

"You're welcome mijo."

The dinner was filled with light conversation before they headed home.

* * *

The next day, Santana and Brittany were walking into Dr. Montgomery's office for their first round of inseminations. They were actually hoping that it would work the first round. They had spent weeks finding the right donor, talking about plans of raising a child together, and passionate love making as if Santana was the one getting Brittany knocked up.

They walked into the office, hand-in-hand, with smiles on their faces. They waited to be called in by Dr. Montgomery's nurse.

"Brittany Lopez?" The nurse came out a few minutes after they sat down.

The couple shot up. This was it.

They sat patiently as the nurse got everything ready. Santana stared at her and Brittany's handhold. Brittany squeezed her wife's hand. Santana looked up at her wife's beautiful ocean blue eyes.

"I love you, baby." Brittany whispered.

"I love you too, beautiful." She whispered back. She was tense.

"Relax for me, please?"

"Okay." Santana let out a breath that she didn't even realize that she was holding.

"You're so cute." Brittany said, kissing her wife's temple.

"Good morning ladies." Dr. Montgomery walked into the exam room.

"Morning Dr. Montgomery." Brittany said taking her eyes off of her wife.

"Oh, please, call me Janell."

"Okay, Janell." Brittany said through a chuckle.

"You two ready for this?"

"Yes." The couple breathed out in unison.

"Here we go. Lift your legs up for support for me, Brittany."

"Okay." Her legs were lifted up in support for the doctor.

Santana had her eyes on Dr. Montgomery the whole time. Watching every single move. She wanted this just as much as Brittany did.

"Okay, I'll tell you when I'm about ready to push it in, okay?" Dr. Montgomery had a softness to her voice that was meant to calm the couple's nerves down.

"Okay." Brittany breathed out.

"One... two..." Santana stood up to get ready to kiss her wife. "three... and it's in." Santana kissed her wife passionately.

"I love you, Britt-Britt."

"I love you too, Sanny."

"Alright, lift your hips for me, please." Dr. Montgomery said, bringing them out of their love haze. Brittany lifted her hips as she got in the position the doctor was showing her. "Alright, you comfortable?"

"Yes."

"Okay. You need to be in this position for thirty minutes. Then meet me in my office."

"Sounds good." Santana said for the both of them.

The two sat in silence for thirty minutes. When the timer that Dr. Montgomery had left in the room, it had only felt like moments to the couple.

"You ready, beautiful?" Santana said helping her wife up.

"Yeah."

After slowly getting Brittany dressed, they walked slowly walked towards Dr. Montgomery's office. Santana's arm was protectively around Brittany's shoulders. Santana knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Dr. Montgomery called from the inside of the office. "Ahh ladies. Please sit."

The couple sat down in front of the doctor.

"I have everything ready for you guys." The doctor started to go through a small care package that she had made for them with informational brochures and pregnancy tests. "You can take the pregnancy tests after fifteen days. It may say negative, if you do it before. No heavy activity for the next few weeks. Blood test in twenty days. Looking forward to the goodness of this, ladies. Any questions?"

"Not at the moment." Santana said looking at her wife, who was agreeing with her.

"Alright, have a good day."

Santana helped Brittany up and walked her out to the car.

They drove home in silence listening to the radio. Santana had her hand on Brittany's thigh the whole way. Once they got home they headed straight to their room and Brittany laid on her side of the bed. Santana joined her and spooned her from behind.

"It's just fifteen to twenty days. We can do this, right?" Brittany asked Santana seriously.

"We're Lopez's damn it, we can do anything." She whispered.

"I love you, baby."

"I love you too, beautiful. Thank you for wanting to carry our baby."

"I'd do anything for you."

And for the rest of the afternoon, the couple lied in bed, cuddling and speaking sweet nothings into each other's ears telling each other how much they loved each other.

* * *

**End Note:** So yeah. Hope you guys liked that chapter. I'm already working on the next chapter's outline.

Next on TCTDA: Brittana finds out if they're pregnant or not, Zach spends some alone time in his _man cave_, Riley and Taylor's relationship takes a turn, and the Lopez-Evans family is tested.


	25. To Be Moms Again

**A/N:** Here's the newest chapter! Hope you enjoy!

* * *

A few weeks later, Santana woke up to her wife staring at her.

"Good morning beautiful." Santana said in a husky, sleep voice.

"Good morning baby."

Santana leaned in for a kiss; Brittany moaned and crawled on top of Santana.

"I love you beautiful." Santana whispered.

"I love you too."

"You should take that pregnancy test this morning. You're three days late with your period." The brunette said softly.

"Yeah." Brittany buried her wife's neck. Santana sensed a little bit of fear within her wife.

"Baby? What's wrong?" She started to rub up and down her wife's back.

"It's nothing." Brittany mumbled.

"I love you, you don't have to lie to me."

Brittany unburied her face out of her wife's neck and placed it on her chest.

"W-will you still love me even if it fails?" Santana heard the uncertainty in her wife's voice.

Santana kissed the top of her wife's head.

"What's with the crazy talk? Of course, I will."

"Did I ever tell you that Sam and I tried for another baby? And we made it to our first appointment only to find out I had a miscarriage?"

"Yeah, you mentioned that."

"It's what drifted me and him apart and I guess that the closer we are to finding out if I'm pregnant or not makes me really apprehensive. Like something is going to go wrong and you're going to leave me." Brittany had tears rolling down her face.

"Oh beautiful." Santana pulled her wife closer. "I'm not Sam. I'm not going to leave you. You have me forever."

"You promise?"

"Of course, Britt-Britt. I've already wasted so much time away from you, I can't waste anymore time away from you." Santana's soft voice was calming her down.

The couple lied there: Santana holding Brittany. They enjoyed each other's silence for a while.

* * *

Santana was getting out of the shower when she saw Brittany staring at two pregnancy test boxes. She dried off and came behind Brittany and held her.

"The sooner we take them, the sooner we can get it over with." She whispered soothingly into Brittany's ear.

Brittany nodded and opened the box and headed for the toilet. Santana leaned back against the vanity and took a deep breath.

"I love you, B."

"I love you too, S."

A few minutes later, Santana was holding Brittany as they waited to flip over the pregnancy tests. When the timer that Santana had set on her phone ended, she looked at Brittany, hoping that she had enough strength to flip them over.

Brittany flipped one over.

"Positive," the blonde whispers.

She flipped the other one over.

"Positive," she whispers again.

"Congratulations baby," Santana whispers in her ear.

"Holy shit, I'm pregnant." The blonde whispered.

Brittany's eyes widen as Santana kissed her cheek. The brunette then leaned down and kissed her wife's stomach followed by softly kissing her wife's lips.

"I love you, beautiful." The brunette whispered.

"I-I love you too." Brittany said still shocked.

"We should call Dr. Montgomery today."

"Y-yeah."

"You okay?"

"We're really going to be parents together."

"Yeah, yeah we are."

"I love you, San."

"I love you too, Britt-Britt."

"I'm going to go lay back down for a little while."

"Wait..." Santana picks her bride up bridal style, similar to how she did the night after they got married, and carried her to bed.

"Oh San," Brittany said after being placed in bed, "you didn't have to do that."

"Hell yeah, I did. I'm determined to have this be a relaxing, stress free pregnancy for you."

"How did I get so damn lucky?"

"It's just because I love you, beautiful." Santana said with a shrug.

"I love you too. Now seriously, finish getting ready for work."

"Okay," the brunette leaned down to give her wife a soft kiss, "promise to call or text me if you need anything?"

"Yes baby." Santana got up to go to the bathroom until Brittany stopped her. "Baby?"

"Yes, love?"

"Can we not tell anyone that I'm pregnant until after our appointment with Dr. Montgomery?"

"Yeah, sure." Santana leaned down and kissed her forehead.

Brittany lied there, smiling because she had such a loving, caring, and protective wife.

* * *

Zach was sitting in his man caveplaying a video game. He had spent a lot of time there since his birthday. It was a nice getaway spot when he just didn't want to talk to anyone. He had spent a few nights there as well on the pull out couch that his mom and Brittany put in the apartment. He had his MacBook sitting next to him with Skype open waiting for Ashleigh to skype him.

When she finally did, he had a small smile form on his face.

"Hey baby girl." He said waiting for the video to connect.

"Hey handsome." She said when the video finally connected.

"How are you? How's DC?"

"I'm good. DC is good. Did you go home last night?"

"Uhm, no."

"Baby, why not?"

"Because every time I do, my mom or Brittany always ask me how I'm doing and I don't really want to have to lie to them."

"Have you ever thought about telling them the truth?"

"It's a touchy situation, Ash."

"Okay."

"When are you coming back? Do you even know?"

"In about a month. I'm spending most of the summer here."

"Okay."

"Try to go home soon, please. I'm sure your mom and Brittany are worried."

"They know where I am babe."

"Doesn't ease their worries. You've been there for a few days now that you weren't working. You need to deal with your feelings soon."

"Okay, okay. I wanted to see my beautiful girl not have a Dr. Phil session with her."

"Sorry, I'm j-just worried."

"I know, baby."

"Please, go home soon."

"Alright."

Zach heard talking in the background.

"Hey Ash, we need to go now," he heard her twin brother Ty say. "Oh, hey Zach."

"What up, McClain?"

"Not much. Getting ready for Princeton. Spending some time with the family. You?"

"Uhh, currently getting my ass kicked in Modern Warfare."

"Damn, sounds rough. Well, we gotta go dude."

"Oh, okay."

"Bye handsome. Go home tonight."

"I will, I will. Bye beautiful."

They ended their Skype chat and Zach took another swig of his Dr. Pepper with no plans to go home that night.

* * *

Santana walked into the house later that evening, Brittany was sitting on the couch watching the evening news with a cup of hot peppermint tea.

"Hey baby." The blonde said as her wife sat down.

"Hey beautiful." Brittany cuddled into Santana. "Have you seen Zach lately?"

"No. I think he's hiding out in his man cavebecause he doesn't want us to ask him how's he's doing."

"Really? You think so?"

"No, I know so, Ashleigh texted me and told me."

"Wow."

"He's been distant since finding out his dad is missing in action. You should probably talk to him."

"Me? Why me?"

"Uhm, other than because your his mother?"

"Why don't you do it?"

"Because I'm going to be the good parent when it comes to Zach. Just like you'll always be the good parent to Riley."

"Yeah, which speaking of that she's been in a mood ever since coming back from Sacramento."

"Yeah, I'll deal with it later. I wanna snuggle with my wife first."

"Did you call Dr. Montgomery today?"

"Yup. We have an appointment on Friday. Or at least I do."

"No, you were right the first time, we. What time?"

"Eleven thirty. Are you sure? I feel bad that you're taking off another day of work."

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"I love you."

"I love you too, Mi Amor."

Brittany leans in and kisses Santana; they continue kissing as Brittany pushes Santana on her back. They were making out on the couch like a couple of teenagers.

Brittany pulled back and rested her head on her wife's chest when they heard a door slam upstairs.

"I should probably go talk to her." Brittany whispered getting up.

"Okay. I can get started on dinner."

"Sounds good."

Brittany walked upstairs and knocked on Riley's door.

"Come in." She heard muffled through the door.

Brittany walked in to see her daughter's face buried into a pillow.

"What's wrong baby girl?" Brittany sat on the end of Riley's bed and placed a comforting hand on her back.

"Nothing," she mumbled.

"Come on, don't lie. Talk to me baby girl." Brittany said softly.

Riley rolled over and curled into her mom; Brittany noticed the tears in her baby girl's eyes.

After a few minutes of silence, Riley finally spoke.

"I knew I'd fuck everything up."

"What do you mean baby girl?" Brittany asked while absentmindedly running her fingers through her daughter's hair.

"With Taylor. I knew I'd screw up everything."

"What happened?"

"I had been talking to Isaiah a lot recently. A lot more than I thought I was. It's just for a lot of our relationship it was somewhat long distance until his dad was honorably discharged from the Navy and they moved here from San Diego. And I had asked him how we did it. Like the distance and stuff. And he said when you love someone enough that things tended to work out for the good. Taylor read that text message and thought I was cheating on her with him. She didn't read the whole conversation, she just read that one message. And she didn't even let me explain. It happened as we were headed for the airport to come home. She won't respond to any of my text messages or phone calls. I knew I would fuck it up somehow."

"Oh baby girl..." Brittany brought her daughter in closer. "Did you two break up?"

"I don't even know."

Brittany embraced her daughter tighter.

"Just give her time to cool off. She'll come around."

"I'm not even cheating on her." Riley quietly sobbed.

Brittany continued rocking her baby girl back and forth.

* * *

Meanwhile, Santana was in the kitchen deciding on dinner when Zach walked in from work.

"Hey mijo." Zach gave her a head nod of acknowledgement. "You okay?" He nodded his head. "Are you going to use your words?" He shrugged his shoulders. "Mijo..."

"I don't want to talk."

"I'm not going to ask how are you. Even though I'm worried."

"I'm fine. Okay?"

"Okay." Santana didn't want to push it, but he's been hiding out lately, so she was genuinely curious.

Zach was walking out of the room before Santana stopped him.

"Wait, mijo..." She called out. "Come here."

"Yeah?"

"I am going to ask how you're doing and not because I want to piss you off, but because I'm genuinely worried."

"It's nothing, Mom."

"How stupid do you think I am, mijo?"

"I never said you were."

"Don't act like I am."

"What do you want from me?"

"The truth!"

"You wanna know the truth?" Zach all, but yelled. "I'll give you the truth! Everyone around me is telling me to just get over the fact that my dad is missing in action! That I shouldn't care because he came back into my life when I was basically grown! Well, I'm sorry that I actually care! I'm sorry that I forgave him! I'm so fucking sorry that I actually care about my father's livelihood!"

Santana took a step closer to her son and wrapped her arms around him. She knew that he felt small. She knew he felt insecure and all she wanted to do is just hold him. And he let her hold him.

It took her a few minutes, but Santana managed to get her distraught son to the couch where she was just holding him. She recalled back to a particular time when he cried in her arms and she comforted him, by lowly singing, "Livin' On A Prayer" by Bon Jovi. She started lowly singing it to him right there while running fingers through his hair.

_"We gotta hold on to what we got_

_Cause it doesn't make a difference_

_If we make it or not_

_We've got each other and that's a lot_

_For love – we'll give it a shot_

_Livin' on a prayer."_

Zach smiled as he buried his face into his mom's lap. He recalls the very first time she sang that to him when he was five and he failed his first spelling test.

**_Flashback _**_(Zach: Age 5)_

It was a rare thing, but Santana picked Zach up from school. She was standing outside John Adams Preparatory Academy leaning against her car. She had just gotten an internship with one of the biggest record company's in New York. She was lucky enough to get home some nights to put her son to bed.

She was halfway done responding to Rachel's text message about what they wanted dinner when her son came out with a defeated look on his face.

"What's wrong mijo?" She asked as he buried his face in her legs and handed her the piece of paper.

"I'm stupid, aren't I?" He all, but mumbled as she looked at the piece of paper where he got nothing right.

"No," she crouched down and looked her son in the eyes, "you are notstupid. You just need a little extra help."

"I feel stupid."

"You aren't."

Santana embraced her son and as he was burying his face in his mom's neck, she picked him up and placed him the back seat.

The ride home was quiet. Santana looked back at her son who was just staring out the window sitting in his booster seat.

He looked heartbroken and Santana knew she was in for a long, quiet night.

Later that night, the mother/son duo were cuddle up on the couch. She had tried everything to get her son to talk, but it wasn't working. He was curled into his mama and she ran her fingers through his hair and softly sung:

_"We gotta hold on to what we got_

_Cause it doesn't make a difference_

_If we make it or not_

_We've got each other and that's a lot_

_For love – we'll give it a shot_

_Livin' on a prayer."_

From that moment forward, that song has been used to calm Zach down on many occasions.

_**Flashback Ended**_

It wasn't any different in the current situation that Zach found himself in. He found himself relaxing in his mama's embrace as she sang to him.

The Lopez-Evans household was quiet that night as Santana softly sang and held Zach and Brittany held and rocked Riley back and forth. The two kids never felt more relaxed and loved in their mother's embrace.

* * *

Santana joined Brittany in bed that night. Brittany snuggled into her love's arms.

"Is everything okay with Riley?" Santana asked softly as she ran her fingers through blonde locks.

"Teenage couple trouble."

"Oh, boy."

"Yeah. Is everything okay with Zach?"

"I think so. I don't know to be honest."

"Well, he seemed to be distant when we all had dinner together."

"He broke down."

"Oh boy."

"Yeah. He let me hold him."

"Taylor thinks Riley is cheating on her."

"Oh, wow. Why?"

"Because she and Isaiah have been talking. She asked him how they did it. You know the long distance thing? And he said that when you love someone enough it tends to work out for the good. And I guess that was the only text message that Taylor read and I guess she over-analyzed it and she thinks that Riley is cheating on her."

"Oh wow."

"She let me hold her, too. Like really hold her. For the first time since she's come back from Sam's. She let me hold her for those first few weeks. Then she became completely enthralled with Taylor."

"Are you okay?" Santana asked, noticing her wife tearing up a bit.

"Yeah, I think it's just hormones."

Santana wrapped her arms around her blonde.

"I love you, Britt-Britt." The brunette whispered.

"I love you too, Sanny." The blonde whispered back.

The two fell asleep in a mess of sheets cuddled up into each other's arms.

* * *

When Santana woke up the next morning, Brittany was already up watching the sun rise over the city from their bedroom window.

Santana came and held her from behind.

"Why can't life be this simple?" Brittany asked softly.

"What do you mean, Mi Amor?"

"This is so peaceful. So simple. Watching the sun rise while being in the arms of the love of my life. Why can't the rest of life be like this?"

"I don't know beautiful."

Brittany leaned back into her wife's embrace. The couple stood their in complete silence until they heard a door slam and arguing outside of their bedroom.

"Come on, Riley! I have an early shift at work today! Hurry the fuck up!"

_"__Calm down, damn it! I'm almost done!"_

"Why the fuck are you up so damn early anyway?"

_"__Because my dad had a couple days off and a bonus on his last pay check and came out to see me! So I apologize if that gets in the way of your stupid work schedule."_

"Stupid work schedule?! It's been on the damn whiteboard outside the bathroom all week!"

Santana and Brittany walked out of their room to see Zach's forehead on the bathroom door.

_"__Go get ready downstairs!"_

"All my shower stuff is in this bathroom!"

_"__Okay then, be patient and wait like two more minutes!"_

"I swear to god, if you make me late-"

"Calm down!" Riley yelled coming out of the bathroom in her bathrobe. "There! You happy now? Bathroom is all yours!"

"It would've been nice if the bathroom was all mine ten minutes ago," he grumbled as he went into the bathroom and slammed the door behind him.

Riley sees Santana and Brittany staring at the whole scene from the doorway of their bedroom.

"Oh, morning Mom, Santana." Riley said sweetly as she went into her bedroom and closed the door.

"These kids are going to be the death of me." Santana muttered as she turned back into the room to start getting ready for work.

* * *

A few days later, Santana and Brittany were walking into Dr. Montgomery's office for their appointment.

Santana looked at the handhold of her and her wife. When they were doing blood work, she just kept staring at the handhold. When they were sitting in the exam room waiting for Dr. Montgomery, all Santana stared intently at is the handhold.

"I love you." Brittany said, bringing her love out of the stare of the handhold.

"I love you too."

"What's wrong?"

"What do you mean?"

"Ever since we got here you've been staring at our handhold."

"Sorry, I just am excited and scared and nervous all at the same time."

"Why's that love?"

"I'm excited because I finally get to be a parent with you. Like not a part-time parent, like a full-time parent with you, but I'm scared and nervous because I'm used to being a full-time parent by myself and I don't know how to split the responsibilities. You know?"

"I get it baby." Brittany said stroked her thumbs over her wife's cheek. "There's going to be a lot of learning. That's for sure, but I'm not going to leave you."

Santana nodded and chuckled while wiping a tear that was running down her face.

"I'm sorry, Britt. It's just a little overwhelming."

"It's okay baby. C'mere."

Santana melted in her wife's embrace. The two stayed like that until Dr. Montgomery came in.

"Good morning ladies!" Dr. Montgomery said extremely chipper. The couple took it as a good sign. "So, are you ready?"

"Yes." The couple breathed in unison.

"Okay... we have a baby!" Dr. Montgomery held up the results.

"Oh, thank fucking god." Santana said under her breath.

Brittany smiled and grabbed her wife's hand.

"The tests show normal signs on all hormones, basically nothing jumps out at me." She smiled at the couple. "Now we normally would have had you come in at around eight weeks compared to the about four weeks you are right now, but with your prior concerns Brittany, I'm glad you two came in early. When you head out just make your eight week appointment at the reception desk. Sound good?"

"Yes." The couple breathed out in unison again.

"Okay. I just need to do a pelvic exam and you two can be on with your day. Congratulations to you both!" The doctor proceeded to do the exam. And once she was done, "Alright, everything looks good. How've you been feeling lately?"

"I have a little nausea, but that's about it."

"Okay, so just take it easy. And we'll see you in four weeks?"

"Absolutely." Brittany said.

"Thank you, Dr. Montgomery." Santana stuck her hand out to shake the doctor's.

"Oh please, Santana, call me Janell." The doctor said shaking Santana's hand. "We'll be getting to know each other really well over the next eight to nine months."

"This is true." Santana said with a smile. "But, in all seriousness, thank you."

"You're welcome."

The doctor left as Brittany got dressed.

* * *

A couple weeks later, Santana was standing in the doorway of her son's room. She was sipping her morning coffee as she saw boxes practically everywhere.

"Are you sure you need to pack up your entire room, mijo?"

"I'm not packing up my entire room, Mama." He said coming back in with a cup of coffee of his own. He kissed his mom's cheek as he passed by her.

"It feels like it." She mumbled into her coffee cup.

"Mama, I'm packing clothes, some books, and a few posters. Move in day for the athlete's before football camp is in a week. Why are you in denial about this?"

"Because that would mean I would have to admit that my baby boy is all grown up and doesn't need his mama anymore."

Zach placed his coffee cup down and walked over to his mom and placed two hands on her shoulders.

"I'm always going to need my mama." He said softly. "I'm just not a little kid anymore and I need you less. But, I'm going to always need you." He smiled a soft smile that he doesn't normally smile. "Besides, I've never done laundry in a day of my life. Who's going to do it until I get married?"

The mother/son duo shared a laugh.

"Well, technically, ever since we moved in with Brittany and Riley, Brittany's been doing your laundry. It's our trade. She washes the laundry and I fold it...occasionally."

They laughed again. Santana was enjoying little moments with her son like this before he buried himself with school assignments and football drills.

Zach had gone back to packing a box. She just stared and smiled at her son.

"Sanny, why are you being a creeper?" Brittany says with a small smile on her face leaning against the other side of the door.

"I'm not baby. I promise."

"She's totally being a creeper, Britt." Zach said as he was taping a box.

"Why are you packing boxes anyway? You're only going to be twenty minutes away." Brittany asked now stepping in front of Santana so that the brunette could hold her from behind.

"I'm not just taking my clothes and MacBook to school with me Britt. I'm going to be living there for at least a year and then besides, the first chance I get I'm moving into that apartment. Ash might join me."

"Might?" Santana rose an eyebrow.

"It all depends if things go as planned."

"Things go as planned?" Santana's eyebrow still raised and now head cocked slightly to the left.

Zach took a deep breath and put the tape gun down and nodded as he looked at the couple.

"How'd you two know that you were the one to the other person in the relationship?"

"She always made me happy and made my heart racing a thousand miles an hour," Brittany started leaning into her wife's embrace.

"I found myself doing anything to make her happy," Santana said smiling.

"I cared about her for more than just what was appealing to the eyes." Brittany continued.

"I found myself protecting her and doing anything for her." Santana added.

"When I thought of her, I thought she was perfect, inside and out." Brittany said lowly, smiling.

"I knew that through the thick and thin, highs and lows, of my life she was going to be there and out of everyone else in the world, I wanted her to be by my side through it all." Santana said smiling.

"And on our first date, she promised me forever." Brittany concluded.

"Why mijo?"

"Because everything you two just said is how I feel about Ashleigh."

"Oh babe." Brittany smiled, knowing that he doesn't just open up to anyone easily, even it was his mom.

"Well, I like her mijo." Santana smiled.

"Yeah, I'm pretty fond of her." He smiled.

The three shared a chuckle when Riley cut into the conversation.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt. But, Santana? That offer last night at dinner of me going to work with you today?"

"Yeah? What about it kiddo?"

"Can I take you up on that? I'm starting to go stir-crazy with Taylor and I not talking quite yet."

"Yeah. Get ready kid. I'll see if I can start you up on an internship while we're at it. We're leaving in thirty."

"Sounds good. Thank you Santana."

"You're welcome kid. Bring your laptop or something." Santana called down the hall.

"Okay!" They heard Riley shout from her bedroom.

"I better get ready for work." Santana kissed Brittany's cheek and walked towards the bedroom.

Santana walked away and Brittany continued to lean in the doorway.

"You need help, babe?" She asked him.

"I got it. You can keep me company though."

"Sounds good."

"Here, you can sit on my bed."

Zach went to move the stuff off of his bed, so that she could sit down. After she got settled and he went back to packing a box, Brittany started what she thought would be light conversation.

"So, how are you?"

"Honestly?"

"Well... yeah."

"I haven't heard anything from General Peters since graduation and he said that he'd get back to me when he had more information. It just scares me." He said, tears welling up in his eyes

"I know, babe. C'mere." Brittany waved her hand in for him to come sit next to her. He sat down and cuddled into Brittany. "I may never understand why you care so much about a man who caused you so much pain and I'm not just going to say that he's going to be okay because you're right it's been two months since you've heard anything, but if you ever need anything I'm here. Your mom's here too."

"Thanks, Britt."

The two sat there cuddling and when Santana came to say goodbye to her wife and son, that's how she found them cuddled up in his bed.

* * *

Santana and Riley were on their way to Rockstar Recording Company, the ride to the studio was mainly in silence.

That is until Santana said something.

"How are you, Ri?"

"I'm somewhat heartbroken." She whispered.

"Yeah?"

"All I can think about is her. I miss her."

"Yeah, I felt that same way when your mom told me that your dad had proposed to her."

"Really?"

"Yeah. All I could do was think about your mom. I was pregnant with Zach and was head over heels in love with her. But, I didn't have a heart to break her and your dad up."

"Why is that? Because no offense, I heard stories about you in high school. They make you sound like a bitch."

"Oh, don't get me wrong. I was the biggest bitch in high school, but I always loved your mom. I just never told her until we got together a few years ago."

"When you promised her forever." Riley whispered.

"Yeah... You were listening to our conversation with Zach?"

"Kinda andyour guys' first date was at our old place. And the walls were thin, I could hear your guys' whisper from the other side of my door after I embarrassingly walked in on you two.

_**Flashback** __(The First Date: About Four and A Half Years Before)_

Riley had just gotten out of a long, grueling soccer practice and a boring dinner with the team. She made her way off a bus near her house when she saw, what she assumed to be Santana's car in the driveway.

She tried to silently slip into the house without the couple noticing her, but when she took her second step in the house, she heard her mom clearing her throat. The teenager looked up from her feet at her mom and Santana having dinner by candlelight.

"Hey baby girl. I thought you were having dinner your soccer team?" Brittany said softly.

"I did. You know it's eight thirty, right?"

"Oh right, but isn't it your dad's week with you?"

"He's in New York on a business trip, don't you look at our online family calendar?"

"I, uh, must've forgotten to."

"Who is at the door, baby?" Santana said coming from the kitchen with a bottle of chardonnay.

"Who's this?" Riley asked.

"Baby girl, this is my girlfriend, Santana. Sweetie, this is my daughter, Riley."

"Oh, you're Riley. It's nice to finally meet you."

"Y-yeah." She stuck her hand out to Santana. "Nice finally meeting you too, Santana." The shook hands. "I'm just going to go to my room now. Sorry to interrupt your date."

"It's okay, baby girl."

Riley went into her room and quietly shut her door and leaned up against it.

She stood there, back against the door, for a good five minutes until she heard whispering.

"I promise you forever Britt-Britt. When you told me that you and Sam were getting married, I won't lie now, but I was severely crushed. But, right here, right now, I'm promising you forever. You and me. I love you and I've loved you ever since I could remember."

Riley walked away from her door and fell face first into her bed. Now, realizing, for the first time, that her dream of the reuniting of her parents, was never going to happen.

_**Flashback Ended**_

"Taylor will come around eventually." Santana said pulling Riley out of her thoughts as she pulled in to the parking lot of Rockstar Recording Company.

"I sure hope so." Riley said, looking up at the tall twenty-five story building in front of her.

She had never been to the studio before, so this was somewhat of a treat.

The two walked into the studio the same time Puck was.

"Hey Santana, Mini Brittany."

"Hey Puck, I was thinking we could start this one out on an internship, what do you say? You and I could use an intern and she's Brittany's kid, so she can start out working for free."

"Hell yeah. I've been waiting for this day." He said with a smile.

The trio walked into the building and started their days.

A half an hour into the day, Riley was sitting in an empty office that overlooked the city.

She was trying to figure out the WiFi password without having to bother Santana or Puck and finally gave up after her third try and walked next door to Santana's office.

"Hey Santana?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

"What's the WiFi password?"

"Dreams come true. All one word. All lower case. In the Rockstar Recording Company WiFi thing."

"Okay, thanks."

"You're welcome kid."

Riley walked back over to the office she was using. She began to think about how awesome it was to be Rockstar Recording Company's newest intern. And for a good eight hours, forgetting about how much she missed Taylor.

* * *

**End Note:**Hope you all enjoyed that one!

Next on TCTDA: The Lopez-Evans family is tested. Zach's first day of college. Riley and Taylor (Raylor?) might make up.


	26. To Find Complete Closure Again

**A/N: **I apologize that this is late! Crap got in the way and I started summer school and whatnot. But, here's the next chapter.

* * *

A week later, Zach was putting the final box in his truck. It was move in day for the athletes as they were going to be in football camp the following week and school would start a week after that. Santana stood in the kitchen looking out the window drinking her morning coffee.

Brittany came and leaned against the counter beside her, knowing full well what her wife was looking at.

"He had to grow up eventually." Brittany mumbled behind a cup of peppermint tea.

"I know." Santana wiped a single tear from rolling down her cheek.

Brittany went behind her wife and held her from behind.

"Hey, how about tonight, you, me, and a hot bubble bath?"

"Sounds good, Britt-Britt." Santana said wiping more tears from her eyes.

"He's just going to be 20 minutes away. 15 when he moves into that apartment."

"I know. Just the thought of my baby boy growing up."

"It's okay I get it."

The couple stood there until Zach walked in. Santana and Brittany agreed to go help him move his stuff in.

Zach had pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge when his phone rang. The couple continued to stare into each other's eyes.

Incoming Call: Unknown

"Hello?" He answered rolling his eyes at the love haze his mom and Brittany seemed to be in.

"_Hello Zachary Lopez?"_

Zach recognized that voice, it was the voice of General Peters.

"General Peters?"

That snapped Santana and Brittany out of their love haze.

"_Yes, how did you know it was me?"_

"With all due respect sir, no one forgets the voice of a man that brings them bad news thirty minutes before their high school graduation ceremony."

"_I apologize son. I hope today isn't an important day."_

"It's just move in day at the University of Southern California." He replied softly. He heard the Marine General take a deep breath. "I take it this isn't a phone call to inform me of good news."

"_I'm really sorry son. I would do this on any other normal day, but I feel that you should know the truth before the Times and CNN get it."_

"He's dead, isn't he?" Zach asked softly.

Santana and Brittany continued to stare at Zach. His eyes were starting to water.

"_Yes. I'm so sorry son."_

"Do you have funeral arrangements made already?"

"_Yes. Of course. The memorial service is going to be this Saturday. Los Angeles National Cemetery. Service starts at 0900 sharp."_

"Okay, I will see you then."

"_See you then, Zachary. I apologize for you loss. He served this country with great pride. Good luck at the University of Southern California. It's quite a fine institution."_

"Thank you. Have a good day, General Peters."

"_You too. Goodbye."_

"Goodbye."

Zach hung up the phone and looked at his mom and Brittany.

"Mijo..."

"You guys ready to go? We should get going." Zach was searching his pockets for his keys.

"Zach..." Brittany breathed out.

"I should go grab my backpack and keys out of my room."

"You don't get to play this off like it's nothing, mijo..."

"I'm not playing it off like it's nothing."

"Mijo, I heard you say funeral arrangements. You don't get to play this off like it's nothing."

"Well... this is ironic. Coming from his ex girlfriend that wanted nothing to do with him." Zach snapped.

"Hey! You don't get to talk to your mom like that!" Brittany said firmly. "You spent the majority of the summer locking yourself away in that apartment because you wanted to avoid us asking you how you were doing! Well, I'm sorry! You're done, hiding! Your done, burying your feelings under the carpet! Your done, pulling the bullshit card that you've pulled all summer! You wanna know how the real world works, sweetie? I'll put this in terms you understand! You're going to have fumbles, interceptions, and yes even sacks in your life, but how you get off your ass and handle it is how good or how bad your life is going to be!" The blonde took a step forward and softened her approach, "So, listen to your mother when she says that you don't get to play off your father's death like it's nothing."

Santana walked over to her son's side leaning against the counter near the refrigerator.

"I fucking knew this would happen." He whispered, holding his head in his hands.

"How could you?" Santana softly asked.

"I just had this, like, gut feeling."

Santana pulled her son in for a hug as he just sobbed into her shoulder.

"I love you, mijo." Santana whispered. "I love you so much."

He pulled back and offered a weak smile.

"We should, uh, really get a move on with this move thing." He said.

"Yeah. One more question, for now, though."

"Okay."

"When is the funeral?"

"9 o'clock at the Los Angeles National Cemetery. Since I'll be living on campus by that point, I'll come pick you two up?"

"Sounds good."

"Okay."

The trio headed off to the University of Southern California for move in day.

* * *

"Is it true?" Ashleigh came into Zach's dorm room with her parents following close behind, a few hours later.

Zach was putting up a poster with Santana sitting at his desk with Brittany in her lap.

"Uhm, hi baby. I'm okay, thanks, how are you, my love? How was your flight back?" Zach said, somewhat sarcastically.

All four of the parents snickered.

"Don't be sarcastic, baby."

"Okay, if you're talking about my dad than yes."

"I'm so sorry, baby." She practically jumped in his arms as she kissed him.

She had been gone for almost two months, so it felt great for him to have his girl back in his arms.

"Hi ladies." Robert said to Santana and Brittany.

"Hi Robert." Santana replied as Brittany unburied her face from the brunette's neck.

"Hey Robert, Katherine." Brittany said.

"Hey. How's he doing?" Katherine whispered.

"Not well. He's putting up a good front though." Santana said, wrapping her arms tighter around Brittany's waist. Brittany went back to buried her face into Santana's neck.

Zach had his arms wrapped around Ashleigh's lower back and she had her arms wrapped around his neck.

"Hey love birds," Santana snapped the young couple out their haze, "I know it's been a long summer, but we're still here."

"Sorry." The young couple mumbled in unison.

"It's cool. You McClain's hungry? We were going to hit up somewhere for a burger. Wanna join us?"

"Sure." The three of the said in unison.

"Alright let's head out."

* * *

Saturday came a little quicker than Zach, Santana, Brittany, and even Quinn would've like to admit.

Zach pulled up to his mom's house with his Aunt Quinn at 8:25am. He texted Brittany, knowing that she would get it faster than his mom.

_To Brittany:_

_Hi, Aunt Quinn and I are waiting out front._

_Sent: Saturday, August 18th, 8:26am_

"San! Zach and Quinn are waiting for us out front."

"Okay, okay. How you feeling, Britt-Britt?"

"I'm fine. Let's go, please."

Santana walked out of the bathroom, wearing her simple, black pant suit.

"Okay, this is totally inappropriate right now, but you look really hot in that pant suit, baby."

"Thank you, beautiful. You look hot too, that dress totally turns me on."

"You're so being inappropriate right now."

"You started it."

"Yeah, I did."

"I love you."

"I love you too. Now, let's go."

They walked outside and climbed into the backseat of Zach's truck.

"I don't even wanna know why you have a smirk on your face this early in the morning, do I Lopez?"

"No, you don't Fabray."

The drive was in silence as Zach drove, so focused. The three woman made light conversation until Zach pulled into the parking lot of the cemetery.

They stood around like everyone else. The conversation still light.

A few minutes later, General Peters walked up to Zach, Quinn, Santana, and Brittany.

"Zachary?"

"Yes, hi sir." He stuck out his hand to shake the general's. The general shook the football player's hand. "Oh sir, this is my father's half-sister, Quinn Fabray." The two shook hands and said hello. "And this is my mom and stepmom, Santana and Brittany Lopez." The general shook their hands before looking at Santana.

"Santana Lopez?"

"Y-yes, sir?"

"General Taylor told me to give this to your son to give to you, but I guess I can give it to you directly." The general said, handing Santana an envelope.

Santana politely took it from the general before he slowly turned and left.

"What do you think it is, Sanny?" Brittany quietly asked, as Zach and Quinn went to find seats.

"I don't know, but I'm about to find out."

She opened the envelope and found a letter. Brittany let her read it by herself and walked over to where Zach and Quinn were sitting.

_Santana,_

_If you're reading this, it's because I lost my life, in what people consider, the most honorable way possible. And I don't know why I'm brave enough to serve my country and die and not brave enough to tell the mother of my child what I'm about to say alive and in person. But, here it goes:_

_I've done a lot of shitty, childish things in my life. Walking out on you and Zach when you both needed me the most. Coming back seven years later with hopes to win you back and then walking out again when I didn't get what I wanted. And I know, no apology is ever going to make up for that._

_When I met you, you honestly scared the shit outta me. You were a bitch, to say the least. But, I still saw something in you that Brittany obviously still sees._

_I always knew that you were in love with Brittany and that's a huge part of why I left. Even though, I knew that she was with Sam, I always had a gut feeling that you two would end up happy together. And seven years, after graduation and the birth of our amazing son, I still hadn't come to terms with that. (And trust me, I got an ear full from Berry and Lady Hummel after I left New York.)_

_When I came back, on that September morning to see if I could be in Zach's life again, I stared at the pictures in the wall of your office. I realized how much I missed in 17 years and I regret every moment away from our boy._

_I may never understand why he has forgiven me for everything I've done, but I thank you for giving me six amazing months with him. You raised him up to be quite a gentleman and I wish I could take some credit for that, but even then you would deserve all the credit anyway. (I don't know why you actually listened to your parents when they said you were inadequate to be a mother because you definitely proved them wrong.)_

_In the envelope, I've attached a check. And I know your eyes are widening right now, but please let me explain:_

_As I cannot make up for lost time with our child together, I realized that I was even more of an asshole by not giving you a penny of child support. And even though, I know our boy is an adult now, I felt like this was the right thing to do. I have made an arrangement with my lawyer and my commanding general, General Peters, that the money in my life insurance policy will make up for every penny I owe you, or at least I hope._

_I know that I cannot make up for every shitty and childish thing I've done in my life, but I hope this makes up for at least some of it._

_And just because I can, I love you, Santana, even though you are happily married and in love with the beautiful, talented Brittany S. Pierce. Take care of her, I know you understood her in high school a lot better than anyone else did. Just like in the same way she understood you. And I hope one day, you can fully forgive me for everything I have done too._

_-Matt_

Santana opened up the envelope and took out the check and her eyes widened even more. She was staring at a check that read over 90 grand.

"Damn," Santana whispered under her breath, "these military people make some damn good money."

Santana wiped tears away as Brittany came to tell her wife that the service was about to start. Santana stuck the letter and check back in the envelope and stuffed the envelope in her jacket pocket of her pant suit.

She had finally found that closure with Matthew Taylor that she had been looking for the past 18 or so years. She had only wished it had been in person and a check for over 90,000 dollars wasn't being shoved in her hands.

* * *

After the service, Santana, Brittany, Quinn, and Zach were leaving before General Peters stopped Zach.

"Uhm, Zachary?"

Zach turned around and smiled at the general. As the ladies continued to walk back to his truck.

"Yes, sir?"

"I forgot to hand you this when I handed your mom her envelope."

He handed the teenager an envelope that was addressed to him.

"Thank you sir." He took the envelope and shook the general's hand.

"You're welcome. Good luck with everything."

"Thank you, sir."

"I have to get going."

"Yeah, thank you for everything, sir." Zach quickly said. "It was a beautiful service."

"The pleasure was mine, I've worked with your father for the past decade. He will be missed."

Zach looks over his shoulder and sees his mom, Brittany, and Quinn patiently waiting having a light conversation.

"I should get going." Zach said softly.

"If we need anything, let me know."

"You don't have to do that, sir."

"I know, but your father meant the world to me. We developed a strong friendship. So, I want to." He said, handing the boy his card.

"Oh well, thank you."

"Goodbye, Zachary."

"Goodbye General Peters."

As Zach walked back to the car, he opened the envelope and saw a letter.

_Zach,_

_If you're reading this then I lost my life, in what everyone around you will consider the most honorable way possible. I live a good life. I've made some pretty shitty and childish decisions that I thought were good at the time. So, I will never understand why you forgave me. I will never understand why you trusted me back in your life again. But, I'm not going to lie, I'm super thankful you did. Over the six months, I've gotten to know you and it made me regret the 17 years I chose to stay away from you._

_Have you ever notice how in life things work out in weird ways? Like how in six months, we sort of developed that relationship that we should have developed throughout the first 17 years of your life?_

_Thank you. Thank you for allowing me in your life. Thank you for allowing me into the drama of the Lopez-Evans household, even if that was me just being someone who would just listen. Thank you for going to all those Dodger games and having all those cups of coffee with me. Thank you for allowing me to help you make decisions like USC and asking Ashleigh out. Thank you for wanting to build this relationship. I'm sorry it was cut so short. _

_I don't have any fatherly advice. Just to take care of your mom and Brittany. I know how much they both mean to you. And a word from the experience, always do what your girlfriend wants you to, even if your friends make whipping sounds. Do whatever you can to make her happy and with the way your mom raised you, I'm sure you are already doing the stated above._

_It's okay to grieve, but please don't put your grieving on hold because you think I would want you to be strong. Please, let it out and let your mom, Brittany, and Ashleigh be there for you._

_I love you, son. You've made me a proud father. Congratulations on graduating from high school. And let me be the first to say, even though I'm probably like five to six years early, congratulations on graduating from college. _

_Love,_

_-Dad_

Zach wiped tears from his eyes as he read the letter and looked up to the sky and sucked a breath in. Taking a moment to be with his dad before walking to the car.

"What was that?" Quinn asked, gesturing to Matt's letter.

"Just a letter my dad wrote."

"Aww that's cute." Quinn and Brittany said in unison.

Santana opened the door for her wife to slide in and she followed in right after.

Quinn got in the passenger's seat as Zach started the car. The ride was silent as they headed to a diner close by the cemetery to eat something.

* * *

"Holy shit, are you serious?!" Brittany said, later that night, with eyes widened after reading the letter and looking at the check Matt wrote in Santana's name.

"Yeah. It's freaking me out."

"This is intense. To make up for 17 years of child support?"

"Yeah."

"I can't believe it," the blonde whispered.

"The military really changed him."

"Remember that arrogant, self-centered kid he was back in high school?"

"Yeah, I still to this day swear that I only dated him because he was cute."

"Yeah, that's what I say about Sam."

"What's going on with you two?" Santana asked, hesitantly.

"What do you mean, love?"

"Your phone calls with him have been really hostile."

"Oh you know, not getting child support from my baby daddy for the past four months. Gotta pull out the big guns at some point."

Santana came behind Brittany and started rubbing her shoulders and kissing her neck. Brittany seemed to calm down a bit.

"Why hasn't he been paying you child support?"

"I don't know, probably spending that money on that stupid girlfriend of his."

Santana continued to massage Brittany's shoulders trying not to laugh at her wife's outburst.

"Baby, his girlfriend isn't stupid. You know how I feel about calling people stupid. I've come a long way since high school."

"I know. I just don't get it, you know? He was good on transferring the money into my account up until four months ago."

"And asking for it nice-" Santana was cut off by the death glare her wife was giving her. "Okay. Never mind." Santana continued to rub her wife's shoulders in silence.

* * *

The next day, around lunch time, Santana was sitting in her office. She was about to call Brittany when her assistant called her.

"Yeah?" She answered.

"You're wife is here, can I let her in?"

Santana had a huge smile on her face, she loved it when Brittany surprised her.

"Of course."

Thirty seconds later, Brittany came in wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt.

"Hey beautiful." Santana got up and greeted her wife and as she hugged her, locked the door from behind, so she could enjoy her lunch break with her wife, peacefully and not interrupted.

What she didn't know is that Brittany had other plans. She kissed her wife until she got her wife into the sitting position on the office couch.

Brittany started by straddling her wife and continued to make out with her. Then slowly one by one pieces of clothing came off of the both of them.

Brittany shot up when Santana took the blonde's sweatpants off. The brunette realized that her wife was wearing her favorite lingerie.

"Holy shit, Britt-Britt." Santana breathed.

"I wanna make last night up to you. You took care of me and yet you asked me one little question and I cut you off with a death glare." Brittany whispered seductively as she walked over to the iHome set that Santana had in her office with the couple's shared iPod in hand.

She put on some song Santana couldn't recognize because all she heard was the bass and beats. And then the brunette watched the blonde sway back over to her.

"You've been dealing with my mood swings like a champ lately, baby. And I wanna make it up to you."

"Ba-by." Santana tried to get out. "W-we have t-to be q-quite. R-Riley is in the office next to mine."

Brittany dropped down low and slowly and proceeded to give her wife a lap dance.

"Oh, fuck,baby." Santana breathed as her wife continued to give her a lap dance.

* * *

Meanwhile, Riley was in the office next door, with her earphones in. Her job as an intern at Rockstar Recording Company was to find fresh, new talent online, so Santana or Puck could go scout them out. She had her earphones in her ear when Puck came in.

"Hey Mini Brittany."

"Puck, I have a name, you know."

"Yeah, yeah. So this Trevor Dean kid you found, what's his views like on YouTube?"

"Close to a million, per video."

"Did you scout out his contact info?"

"Yeah." Riley picked up her phone and went into her contacts and handed Puck the phone. "He's my cousin's best friend and pretty good friend of mine too. I didn't know he did this kind of stuff."

"Damn, I'm glad we hired you, Evans."

"Hired me my ass, I ain't making nothing for all this hard work I do around here." She joked.

"Yeah, I'll work on that."

"Thanks Puck."

"Have you had your lunch break yet?"

"No, my mom just dropped me off lunch before she went into Santana's office."

"Okay, cool. You can take it now if you want."

"Thanks, I'm starving."

The room got silent and both Riley and Puck simultaneously heard moans coming from the wall in Santana's office. They both looked at each other.

"Do you think-" Puck couldn't even finish his statement.

"Oh god, Puck. Seriously? I don't need that image in my head."

"Just ignore it. Put your earphones back in and ignore it."

"That's exactly what I was going to do." She said as Puck left the room.

As soon as she put the earphones back in her ears and put the next cover on, she grabbed the lunch box with her favorite lunch stuff, she heard a familiar, sweet voice.

"Nice office, you got here, intern. Mind if I join you for lunch?"

She looked up and saw Taylor looking at her with a sheepish smile on her face.

"O-of c-course." Riley stuttered out.

"I'm sorry for avoiding you for the last couple of weeks. I needed time to think."

"I-I understand."

"Can we sort all of this out?"

"Y-yeah, I was hoping so."

* * *

"Damn Britt-Britt," Santana said out of breath, about thirty minutes later, "you're lucky I didn't have any meetings or recording sessions today." Brittany chuckled and buried her face in Santana's chest. "What's wrong, my love?"

"Nothing, why would you think something was wrong?"

"I just sense that something is wrong." Santana softly said, wrapping her arms around her wife's waist.

"I just was thinking."

"About what, amor?"

"How lucky I am to have you."

"I'm the lucky one." She whispered and kissed her wife's head.

Brittany fell asleep as Santana just held her, stroking her hair.

* * *

"W-wait... y-you're moving back?" Riley stuttered.

"My stepdad went back to Arizona, but my aunt still lives here."

"I don't understand." Riley whispered.

"I overreacted. And I talked to Isaiah. He said that your guys' conversation was innocent."

"It was." Riley whispered, while looking down at her desk.

Taylor got up and went around the desk, pushing it back, and sitting in Riley's lap.

"I love you, I just think I got scared. And my dad didn't think it was fair going from one of the best schools in the country to one of the worst for my senior year."

Riley buried her face into Taylor's chest.

"I always forget your a grade ahead of me." Riley mumbled into her girlfriend's chest. "I love you too."

"So, internship?"

Riley nodded.

"Santana also thinks it's good bonding or something like that. How'd you know I was here?"

"I called your mom."

"She misses you too, you know."

"I know. I miss her too."

"I really think she is having Taylor withdrawals."

"Awww."

"I think she loves you more than me sometimes." Riley mumbled.

"I'm sure that's not true. Why are you all here on a Sunday?"

"Trying our best to get an album out and find fresh talent."

"Oh."

Riley nodded and continued to have her face buried into Taylor's chest.

And that's how the two teenagers sat for the rest of Riley's lunch break.

* * *

Zach woke up, the next day, it was his first day of classes. He was nervous, but he didn't really care at that point. He had a 9:00am English class. It was 6:00am and he was headed to breakfast with his mom, Brittany, and Riley. It had been tradition that they have had since his sophomore year of high school, when Zach and Riley had officially met and now since they are in two different schools that started on two different days, they'll be having it twice.

Zach got ready quietly and headed out of the dorm room.

When he arrived at the diner right outside of Los Angeles, he is surprised to see an awake Santana and Riley and a half-asleep Brittany.

Brittany was fading with her head on Santana's shoulder. Zach sat down and looked at Brittany closely. She was normally the cheery one this early in the morning. It was an odd thing to come see his mom and stepsister so pumped and cheery and his stepmom so out of it.

"Hey." Zach said sitting down.

"Brittany didn't sleep well last night." Santana said, as she saw her son staring at Brittany curiously.

"Oh, we could've made this dinner. So that she could sleep." He said softly.

"No, no. This is tradition." Brittany said groggily.

Santana wrapped her arm protectively around her wife.

"Well hello, Lopez-Evans clan." The waitress said. "Usual breakfast order?"

"Yes, please." Everyone said in unison.

"Coffee Zach?" She asked.

"Please."

The waitress left the family to put the order in and to get Zach's cup of coffee.

"So," Zach said, after the waitress came back with his coffee, taking his first sip, "why are the two of you pumped?"

"Riley's going to sit in the booth with me today." Santana said.

"Yeah, I'm pretty pumped." She said smiling over at Santana.

"That's cool."

"What's your schedule looking like today, mijo?"

"Back to back classes from 9-3. Football practice from 4-7. Dinner date with Ashleigh at 8. Get up do something similar all over again tomorrow."

"You sound like a college student and you haven't even set foot into a classroom yet." Brittany said with her head still on Santana's shoulder.

Zach shrugged and sipped his coffee. They hadn't talked to him since he dropped them off a couple days before after the funeral.

"H-how are you doing, mijo?"

He shrugged again.

"I'm fine. Nervous about my first day, but fine."

"You know what I mean, mijo."

"It still hasn't sunk in yet." He mumbled.

"What's there to have sink in?" Riley mumbled behind her cup coffee.

"Don't." He said looking at Riley. "Just don't."

"What?"

"I know what you're trying to do and I don't appreciate it. Don't try and say I should dismiss my father's death because I already tried doing it and your mom, over there, wasn't too fond of it."

"You just brushed it off initially when you found out, bottling feelings inside doesn't do you any good. I care about you and your well being, babe." Brittany offered.

"Yeah, okay." He mumbled behind his coffee mug.

"Things will look up from here, mijo."

"Is that how it went after Abuelo and Abuela passed?"

"Kinda. They kind of disowned me when they found out that I was pregnant with you."

"Kind of?"

"I live with Brittany and her family until I graduated, but they still put money in my bank account to support me."

"Oh..."

"Yup."

"So, we have an announcement, that we'd like to make." Brittany said.

"Yeah, what's up?" Riley said, feeling the tension build between her and Zach.

"I'm pregnant." Brittany said, lowly.

"Oh my gosh, congratulations Mom!" Riley said getting up to hug her.

"Yeah, congratulations, Mom and Brittany." Zach said softly.

"Thanks mijo. We're excited."

Light conversation was then made throughout the rest of the breakfast, but there was still tension between Zach and Riley.

When the breakfast ended and they all got up to leave, Riley stopped Zach.

"Wait, Zach?"

"Yeah?" He said softly.

"I'm sorry. It didn't mean to come out like that."

"It's whatever. I don't even care anymore."

"Zach, don't be like that."

"Be like what? I never question anything about your relationship with your dad. Not once and never will I. And yet, just because my dad was deadbeat for 17 years, I have to hate his guts until I die?"

"I didn't mean that-"

"Then what did you mean Riley? Because I'm really confused here."

"I meant that you don't know him really well-"

"Don't know him really well? What? I know him well enough to be sad that he's gone. I'm sorry that I didn't have that relationship with him like you do with yours. But, give me some credit, Riley, I have a heart."

Zach walked away and got into his car. Riley looked down, pissed at herself that she made him so mad.

"Ri?" Santana said placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I didn't mean to make him mad." She whispered.

"It's okay, he has a lot on his plate right now. Give him a few days."

"Okay."

"Come on, let's get you into the studio."

* * *

Zach was walking across campus two days later with Ashleigh. He had his hand in hers and he was walking her to her next class.

They were walking when a teenage boy, that looked to be at least 14, stops them.

"E-excuse m-me? A-are y-you Z-Zachary Lopez?"

"Yeah, that's me. Who are you?"

"M-my name i-is R-Raider S-Snyder."

"Well hello, Raider. This is my girlfriend, Ashleigh."

"Nice to meet you, Raider."

"Y-you too. I a-apologize f-for m-my stuttering problem. I-I h-have s-selective m-mutism."

"Don't worry about it, what's up? Aren't you a little too young to be walking around USC?"

"I g-graduated s-super e-early. And, I s-saw you S-S-Saturday at General Matthew Taylor's funeral..."

"Oh, yeah, you do look familiar. How'd you know my dad?"

"H-he d-didn't tell y-you?"

"Obviously not. What didn't he tell me?"

"H-h-he and my m-m-mom w-were t-together f-for a w-while. And I-I'm his s-son t-too."

"Wait, what?"

"I-I'm y-your half-brother."

Zach stood there, his hand gripped Ashleigh's a little tighter. His eyes were wide and mouth slightly opened. And all he could think was:

_"__Why didn't my dad tell me?"_

* * *

**End Note: **Yeah, some new arcs developing. I apologize for the cliff hanger. I'm not usually one to leave them, but whatevz.

Also: To the guest that asked why I don't have many reviews on this story: the reason is I don't ask for them. The reason why, I'm so not a fan of them.


	27. To Move Forward Again

**A/N: **Here's the next chapter. A little later than I thought it would be, but my summer is coming out to be one of the busiest ones of my life. Between online summer school, family reunions, camping, and work, I don't know how I'm alive right now.

Although, fun fact: I did write the majority of this chapter with a couple glasses of chardonnay. So, I was relaxed writing this one.

Annnnyway, without further or do, the twenty-seventh chapter of The Courage To Dream Again...

* * *

_"__I-I'm y-your half-brother."_

_Zach stood there, his hand gripped Ashleigh's a little tighter. His eyes were wide and mouth slightly opened. And all he could think was:_

_"__Why didn't my dad tell me?"_

"H-half b-brother?" Zach managed to get out.

"D-damn, I-I f-f-feel s-stupid n-now."

"I'm sorry," Zach got down below Raider's eye level. "I'm just shocked, he said that he hadn't really been with anybody since my mom."

"Y-yeah. M-m-my mom and him were stationed on base t-together i-in H-Hawaii."

"Oh wow, okay."

"I-if i-it m-means a-anything, h-he d-didn't k-know a-about m-me until I was four."

"Oh damn. I'm sorry man."

"I-it's o-okay. H-he came back into my life w-when h-he found out."

"Wow."

"O-oh, h-how s-shitty of me. H-he c-came b-back i-into your life when you were 17. I-I f-f-feel awful now."

"No, no. Don't worry. It's fine. I, uh, wanna get to know you better, just maybe not when I'm walking my girlfriend to class. Can we exchange numbers? And then maybe I can take you out for dinner, to get to know you better."

"S-sounds good."

The two boys exchanged information and they went on their ways.

"Wow, that was intense." Ashleigh said as they entered the building where her English class was.

"Yeah, that's for sure."

"You'd think your dad would've told you."

"I think he's hinted at it a few times, but I guess I was too dense to actually see it and put the pieces together."

"Well, I'm glad you're going to get to know him."

"Yeah."

"Well, this is my classroom."

"Okay, we'll meet for lunch?"

"Sure."

"I love you."

Ashleigh smiled because this is the first time, since he first told her that he loved her, that he's said I love you first to her.

"I love you too."

She leaned in for a goodbye kiss.

* * *

Brittany was kneeling down by the toilet when Santana walked into the bedroom that same afternoon.

Santana immediately kneels down holding her wife's hair back and rubbing circles on her back.

"I guess calling it morning sickness, is irrelevant." Brittany said groggily, flushing the toilet.

"I'm sorry beautiful. Is there anything I can do?"

"I just need you to hold me."

"I can do that." Santana said picking Brittany up bridal style and carrying her to bed. Santana spooned her wife from behind. "How are you feeling now, beautiful?"

"I'm thankful that there's a little one in there to make all of this worth it."

"I love you, beautiful."

"I love you too, baby. What are you doing home early? I mean, I love it, but you have a job and all."

"We finished early and I felt bad leaving you here by yourself."

"I've just been preparing lesson plans for the new school years and stuff. Nothing too fun."

"I know, but I still don't like knowing that you're here alone. Pregnant or not."

"You're cute, S."

"I try." The brunette said, burying her face into the blonde's shoulder.

"You're so good to me."

"It's because I love you so much, it scares the you know what outta me."

"I love you too, baby."

"Can I get you anything?"

"No," Brittany said turning in her wife's embrace to bury her face into the brunette's neck. "I just want to cuddle."

"I have no objections to that."

"You never do." Brittany mumbled into Santana's neck.

"And I never will."

The couple laid there for the rest of the afternoon. Enjoying being in each other's arms.

* * *

Later that evening, Santana was sitting in her home office going over some paperwork when her phone rang.

_Incoming: Son_

"Hey mijo."

_"__Hey Mom." He said with a soft, tired voice._

"First week of college and college football practice kicking your ass?"

_"__You have no idea." He said through a chuckle._

"How are you doing, though?" She said in a soft, loving, motherly voice.

_"__Um, I'm good."_

"What's wrong, mijo?"

_"__I, um, apparently have a, uh, half-brother."_

"What do you mean?"

_"__I mean, this kid came up to me today when I was walking Ash to her English class and apparently my dad was has dad."_

"Jessica Snyder." Santana whispered to herself.

_"__What's that, Mama?"_

"His mother's name is Jessica Snyder."

_"__Wait, you knew her?"_

"No, I just knew of her. When he tried to come back when you were 7, trying to get me back, what pushed me over the edge and kicked him out of the loft was when he said, 'Well at least Jessica will take me back.'"

_"__Oh, I guess I had fallen asleep by that point."_

"What do you mean, mijo?"

_"__I heard you two that night through the wall."_

"I didn't know that." She said softly.

_"__I didn't feel like I was good enough anymore. For a long while. Until he came back into my life and that wound healed."_

"Oh mijo. Why didn't you tell me?"

_"__Because I woke up in the middle of the night from a small nightmare and I found you holding me. That didn't happen often. I didn't know he left for good, but I knew he was gone."_

"Oh mijo..."

_"__I'm going to get to know Raider." He said softly._

"As long as you want to, mijo. I think your dad would like that."

_"__He's a kid genius. He graduated from high school at freaking 13 years old. And he's at USC studying to become an engineer." He said softly through a smile._

"Sounds like you've already got to know him." Santana said through a small smile.

_"__We talked on the phone for about a half an hour."_

"I'm proud of you, mijo."

_"__What do you mean? How?"_

"Normally you would just hide into yourself and whatnot."

_"__Well, Brittany was right. I'm done hiding."_

"You know she meant that in love, right?"

_"Yeah, I know." Santana then heard him talking to someone in the background. "Yeah, hey Mom? I'm sorry to cut this short, but Ash is here and we're about to head to dinner. I'll talk to you later?"_

"Absolutely! I love you, mijo."

_"__I love you too, Mom."_

"Bye, mijo."

_"__Bye Mom."_

When the line disconnected, Santana stared into space for awhile, remembering the night she and her son were just talking about.

_**Flashback **__(Almost 11 years before)_

"Take me back." Matthew pleaded.

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because if I take you back that means I should marry you and I can't."

"Why not? I proposed to you in high school."

"Yeah because my dad was on your ass about making it right."

"You don't love me anymore, do you?"

"I don't." She said looking down.

"Well, I guess, I'll try Jessica then." He mumbled.

"Come again?"

"I got another woman pregnant three years ago before my first tour in Afghanistan."

"So what? I say no and you go to the next best option? Do you know what it means to be in a relationship?"

"Do you? Have you been in one since we've broken up?"

"That's not the point."

"You love her, don't you?"

"Who?"

"Who else? Brittany."

"That doesn't matter. She's happily married to Trouty Mouth."

"I wouldn't say happily. They're struggling, you know."

"That doesn't matter. She chose him."

"So why can't you choose me?"

"Because I'm not in love with you anymore. I'm sorry Matthew. You can stay in our son's life, but having anything more with me isn't going to happen."

"Then consider me gone."

Matthew got up and was putting his jacket and shoes gone.

"So what? It's all or nothing?"

"I'm not going to pretend to not love you Santana."

"Do you love Zach?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean what I said, do you love Zach?"

"He's a good kid, but I don't think I want to be around anymore."

"You just told him an hour and a half ago that you'll be around. You're such a fucking asshole, Matt."

"You two have a life here and I feel like I'm intruding."

"Just because I refuse to go out with you again, doesn't mean you're intruding."

"All I really wanted was you."

"Well, you had your chance. I'm sorry."

"Well, I have to go back. I'm sorry."

"If I have an emotional kid tomorrow morning, it's going to be your fault."

"Fine, whatever."

Santana sighed and watched him walk out of the loft. She knew she was going to have an emotional kid in the morning. She went into their shared room and got into pajamas and held him from behind. She didn't normally do that, but she felt the need to in that moment.

She didn't know what else to do, silent tears fell down her face as she fell asleep that night.

_**Flashback Ended**_

She was brought out of her thoughts by Brittany coming in.

"Hey beautiful," the brunette said, acknowledging her wife's presence.

"Hey baby. Are you working?" She asked softly.

"No, not really. Why?"

"I know we just cuddled all afternoon, but I was wondering if we could do it again?" She said looking at her feet.

"Hey, you know I'd do anything for my babies."

Brittany smiled as Santana moved to the couch in her office, spreading her arms wide open for her love.

Brittany cuddled into Santana. The brunette ran her fingers through blonde locks.

"Were you like this when you were pregnant with Riley?" Santana asked hesitantly.

"Yeah." Brittany buried her face in Santana's chest. "I could tell it annoyed Sam, even if he didn't say anything. Most woman get horny and want sex for most of the pregnancy and all I really wanted was to cuddle."

"So, wait... I'm not getting any for a while?" Santana jokingly asked.

"Oh, don't worry. You'll be getting a lot. Just not as much as you might think." Brittany said kissing her wife's neck.

"Good to know. Like I said, I have no objections to cuddling with you, my love."

"And this is why I fell in love with you. You just...get me."

"I always have and I always will."

The two sat there and cuddled for the rest of the evening. Santana had no objections holding the love of her life.

* * *

Several days later, Zach found himself pulling up to the same diner he was at exactly a week before. Lincoln Prep's first day of school was that day and he agreed to come have breakfast with his mom, Brittany and Riley. Even if he and Riley hadn't really hashed out their differences from a week ago.

Zach walked in, exhausted. He knew college wouldn't be a walk in the park, but he was one week in and was wondering what the point of it all was.

He walked into the diner and was greeted by Santana and Brittany standing up to hug him and kiss his cheek. When he sat down next to Riley, he didn't even look at her.

"How are you, mijo?"

"I'm alright. Really tired."

"Yeah, I'm sure." Santana said, putting her hand on his, smiling sympathetically.

He shrugged, drinking the coffee that was sitting in front of him.

"How are you doing, Britt?" Zach asked getting the attention off of him.

"Good," Brittany smiled, grabbing Santana's hand under the table squeezing it. "We have our eight week appointment tomorrow afternoon."

"Have any preferences on what you want? Boy? Girl?"

"We could go for either one. I'd like a son because they only experience I've had is with you from the age of like 14 on. But, it doesn't matter to me."

"Me either." Santana said, bringing Brittany's hand up to kiss it.

"Hey, you dealt with me during puberty and my first girlfriend. You deserve an award for that. You both do." Zach said, taking a sip of his coffee. "I'm lucky to still be alive right now."

The couple chuckled along with Zach, remembering him at 14. Remembering how bitter he was and how he always got into trouble.

_**Flashback **__(Zach – Age 14)_

Santana came in from a day of lifting Rockstar Recording Company off of the ground. It was around 11 o'clock, so she expected Zach to already be asleep or up playing video games. Her phone buzzed as she entered the apartment. It was a text message from Brittany.

_Brittany:_

_Hey baby. Hope you had a great day, can't wait to hear your voice later. Love you! Xoxo_

_Sent: Friday, October 17th, 11:00pm_

She smiled like a little school girl. She and Brittany had been dating for a little over three months and it couldn't be any more perfect for the two of them.

She went into the kitchen to get her something small to eat before she called Brittany. But what caught her eye was seeing her son's light on underneath his door.

"Mijo?" She said, as she knocked on his door.

_"Shit," she heard him mumbled. "Just a second."_

When Zach opened his door and barely stuck his head out, Santana had a feeling something fishy was going on.

"Hey Mama."

"Hi. What are you hiding?"

"I'm not hiding anything."

"Then can I come in?"

"It's a mess in here." He said, trying to find an excuse for his odd behavior.

"Zachary Santiago, open the door." She said sternly.

He opened the door and Santana noticed that he was just in his boxers and when she looked up, she wasn't prepared for the sight she saw.

A girl, probably, at least 15, propped up against his headboard with the sheet covering her naked body.

She had come a long way since high school, where her first reaction would've been to start yelling. She took a deep breath, slowly counted to ten, and the addressed the situation.

"What's going on here?" She said calmly, scanning the room.

As she was scanning the room, she noticed a bottle of champagne and two almost empty glasses sitting on his windowsill. The same bottle that she was saving for her and Brittany when they had an evening in.

"Why do you care?" Zach snapped, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"I'm your mother, so it's kind of necessary for me to care."

"I had my first date tonight. And you didn't even come home to make fun of me like you normally would, don't act like you care."

"That was tonight?!" Santana's eyes went wide.

"Yeah."

"So, what? You think this is how first dates are supposed to go? Charm the lady and then take her back to your place to get laid?" Santana said softly.

"It's what you do with Brittany, am I wrong?"

"There's a difference there, mijo. One, we're adults, so we can make that decision or not. Two, I can't get Brittany pregnant."

"We used protection."

"Used?!Like you two have already- this isn't happening."

"Oh, don't act like you weren't going at it at my age. You had me when you were 17!"

"Yes, and you're 14."

"I'm gonna go now..." The girl mumbled getting up to get dressed.

After she got dressed and left, Santana took another deep breath.

"What you did tonight is unacceptable. I'm really disappointed in you Zach."

She walked out of his room and shut the door. She walked into her room across the hall and quietly shut the door, holding back tears, as she called Brittany.

_"Hey baby." She said softly, she sounded somewhat distracted._

"H-hey beautiful."

_"Is everything okay? You sound off." She asked, still somewhat distracted._

"I just came home to find out that not only did my 14 year old son have his first date tonight, but also lost his virginity."

_"Woah, what? Seriously?" She said, now giving her girlfriend her full attention._

"Yeah."

_"Oh, babe. I'm so sorry."_

_"I don't even know what to do. I'd be such a hypocrite if I told him what he's doing is wrong. I was already sexually active by 14."_

_"Yeah, I remember. We were each other's firsts."_

"Yeah. What do I do, Britt-Britt?" Santana sounded so defeated.

_"You go into his room, remind him how much you love him, tell him what happened tonight won't happen again."_

"I don't think I could go back in there tonight."

_"Then do it first thing tomorrow morning." She said softly_.

"Okay... h-how are you, beautiful?"

_"I'm good. Riley had a really horrible nightmare. So she came and cuddled into me."_

"She has a s-soccer tournament tomorrow, right?" Completely changing the subject.

_"Yeah. She really nervous about it for some reason."_

"Are you going?"

_"Of course. You still want to pick me up for our date after?"_

"I was thinking that maybe I could join you guys. If we're going to settle down and whatnot, I'd like it if your daughter likes me too."

_"Sam's going to be there."_

"I can deal with Trouty Mouth."

_"He knows we're together."_

"Yeah?"

_"Yeah."_

"How'd he take it?"

_"He was wondering what took us so long to get together." Brittany said through a chuckle._

"Well, I'll be there. Holding you close."

_"I can't wait." She said, softly. Sensing that Santana was still tense about the situation. "Want a back rub tomorrow night?"_

"You don't have to do that beautiful." She whispered.

_"Yeah, but you've been taking care of me and the stress of being a school teacher. Let me take care of you and the stress of being a single parent."_

"Okay." She said softly.

They talked for the majority of the night and fell asleep taking to each other. After a while, Brittany hung up after knowing that Santana was asleep.

_"Goodnight Santana. I love you."_

The next morning, when Santana woke up, there was a cold, bitterness that was blowing through the apartment. Something that Santana grew up with and refused to have her own child grow up in.

When she got up, she saw her son, in sweatpants, a sweatshirt, and slippers standing out on their balcony tightly gripping a cup of coffee watching the Saturday morning sun rise from the horizon. She poured herself a cup and joined him on the balcony.

He acknowledged his mom, but didn't say anything. He didn't really know what to say.

"You're 14." Santana said, watching the sunrise.

"I know." He said, with tears in his eyes.

"You're way too young to be even thinking about that kind of stuff. Why'd you do it?"

"I felt lonely here. You're working hours that you used to work in New York. I just wanted to feel numb."

"That girl-"

"Leah."

"Leah, you went on a date with her last night?"

"Yeah. She's 15, a freshman. I took her to dinner and then we played mini-golf. We started making out on the train ride home. Then it just escalated from there."

"You know, I love you, right?"

Zach shrugs.

"It's questionable sometimes. You promised that Uncle Puck said you can set your own hours. Yet you've been gone just as much as you were in New York. At least in New York, I had Aunt Rachel, Uncle Kurt, and Uncle Blaine. I don't have anyone here."

"Do you want me to see if Brittany can come over after school?"

"Why? So she can make sure I'm doing her homework."

"Okay. I get it." They sat in complete silence for a while. "I do love you, mijo. I'm really sorry that you ever thought differently."

"I miss our dinners together. I've been eating alone lately."

"Mijo..." She tried seeing that he was holding tears back.

"If you're not at work, you're with Brittany. I like that your happy Ma, but whatever happened to all those promises you made me on the plane ride here?"

"They're not totally broken, mijo..."

"Really? Because they really seem to be."

"Mijo..."

"Can you just admit that they are? When's the last time we had a meal just the two of us? What's the last football game you've come to of mine? When's the last time we sat and watched a Giants game together? Mom, I miss you."

Santana looked at her son, who was letting his tears flow freely now down his face.

"C'mere, mijo." Santana gestured with her hand. "Lemme hold you."

When Zach reached his mom's arms, he relaxed for the first time, he could remember. They stayed like that until Zach got up to do homework and Santana left for Riley's soccer tournament.

They've never talked about that day or the day six months later, where he found himself in between his mom and Brittany's arms when he found out that Leah was cheating on him.

_**Flashback Ended**_

"That was an awkward time." Zach said, as he dug into his omelet.

"Indeed, it was." Brittany said eating her eggs.

Breakfast was in silence until Riley broke it.

"I'm really sorry about last week, Zach." She said softly.

Zach turned a looked at his stepsister.

"Don't worry about it, alright? It's fine."

"It was wrong of me though." She all, but mumbled.

"It's fine." He said placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Okay." She said, knowing that the conversation wasn't going to get anywhere.

Zach placed a brotherly arm around his stepsister.

"I'm choosing to forget about it." He whispered to her. "I get where you're coming from, but we just need to agree to disagree on the subject."

"Okay."

The family of four sat through light conversation throughout the rest of breakfast.

* * *

The next day, Santana found herself nervous as she sat next to Brittany for their eight week check up appointment.

Santana got up and managed to make it to a water cooler in the room. She didn't know why she was so nervous. Every time they stepped into Dr. Montgomery's office she gets so easily nervous.

When she sat back down, Brittany grabbed her wife's hand.

"It's okay baby," the blonde cooed, "breathe."

"I don't know why I'm so damn nervous."

"C'mere." Brittany gestured to the empty space next to her, knowing that her wife would calm down by holding the blonde.

"I'm sorry that I'm always a mess when we come in here." Santana mumbled.

"You care a whole lot about our baby, babe. It's okay. It just shows that you already have so much love for our unborn child. Can you imagine if your this protective now, how much protective you will be when they are born and throughout their life?"

"I love you, beautiful." Santana said, smiling.

"I love you too, baby."

A few moments later, Dr. Montgomery walked in and Santana got off the exam table.

"You folks ready to meet your baby?"

"Yeah," the couple breathed out in unison.

"Alright, let's get this party started," the doctor joked. She turned to her nurse, "Alex, could you dim the lights and hand me the aquasonic gel?"

"You bet." The young brunette nurse said, with a mega watt smile.

"Alright, Brittany, this is going to be a little cold." The doctor said applying the gel to her stomach.

Brittany jumped a little initially.

"Woah, that is cold," she muttered.

Santana grabbed her hand.

Dr. Montgomery clicked some buttons on the keyboard to try and start seeing the baby on the screen.

"And... there we are little ones, nice to meet you!" Dr. Montgomery said.

"I-I'm s-sorry, ones?As in-" Santana was in a little bit of shock to finish her sentence.

"Yup, congratulations, Moms, you're having twins."

"Sanny, twins." Brittany said with tears in her eyes. Santana's eyes went wide. "You okay, baby?"

"Y-yeah. Just trying to take it all in."

"When will we know the genders of the babies?" Brittany directed the question towards the doctor.

"We won't be able to tell for a few more weeks. You're about nine and a half weeks along right now." Santana was actually starting to shake.

"Baby, are you sure you're alright?" Brittany asked worried.

"I'm fine, it's just a lot more than I expected. I'm just as equally excited, but-"

"I know, baby."

"Are you guys already parents?" Dr. Montgomery hesitantly asked.

"Yeah. But, we basically raised them separately. We just got married almost a year ago." Brittany said, holding Santana's hand.

"How old are they?"

"My daughter is 16 and her son just turned 18."

"You had them young."

"Two years into college..." Brittany whispered.

"Legitamently right out of high school..." Santana whispered.

"So, you two already have experience. Maybe this is a way of saying that you have a chance to see how you both can raise two kids together."

"I didn't think of it like that." Santana mumbled.

"Thank you, Janell."

"You bet." She offered the couple a warm smile. "So, your due date is looking around Easter time in April. It's looking like April 12th, but I'll know for sure on your next visit."

"Okay." The couple said.

"Is there any questions that you have?"

"Not really."

"Alright. I'll print you out a couple of pictures of the sonogram and you can be on your way."

"Thanks Janell." Santana said looking at her wife.

The couple stared at each other. It was official, no turning back now. They had met their babies and despite the fact that they are scared out of their minds on how to raise them, they were excited.

* * *

When Santana and Brittany were getting ready for bed that night, Brittany saw a change in demeanor within her wife.

She didn't say much on their dinner date. She didn't say much in the car on the way to and from. And she's not saying much now.

Brittany came behind her and wrapped her arms around her wife.

"What's wrong baby?" She asked quietly.

"Nothing."

"Baby..."

"Twins, Britt. Like double the baby clothes. Double the diapers. And our cars...like what are we going to do, Britt?"

"We still have a while to figure it all out. Breathe."

"I know, you do realize I'm going to extra protective of you now, right?"

"Yeah, I know, baby." The blonde said kissing the brunette's cheek.

"So, I somewhat apologize in advance."

"You're protective of the ones you love. We've gone over this."

Santana smiled. She was scared, to say the least, but she was excited at the same time.

* * *

**End Note: **So there you have it. 4,600 words exactly. Hope you enjoyed it.


	28. To Find A Happier Place Again

**A/N:** Hey TCTDA Readers! I wanted to get this update out before I leave camping for a week for the 4th! It is a little of an intense chapter and I'll explain why: As of right now, TCTDA has been building up to this point, meaning, the reason why Riley hasn't been in much of the story so far is because when I began this story at the beginning of the year, I've wanted to do this arc, but didn't necessarily know how to approach it. It's a little personal, but I think I pulled it off pretty well. I don't know.

I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Santana woke up to the sound of her wife upchucking in their bathroom. Over the last couple weeks, Brittany's morning sickness has progressed worse.

Santana kneeled down holding back her wife's blonde hair and rubbing soothing circles on her back.

"You're so good to me," Brittany said, groggily, as she flushed the toilet. Santana shrugged with a sheepish smile on her face. "I had no one to do it for me when I was pregnant with Riley." The blonde propped herself against the bathtub.

"What about, Trouty Mouth?" Santana said, sitting across from her wife, grabbing a foot and began massaging.

"If he wasn't at school, he was at work, and if he wasn't at school or work, he was playing videos games with Finn, Puck, and Artie."

"I'm sorry, beautiful." She said continuing to knead her wife's foot.

"How'd you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Not let anyone take care of you when you were pregnant."

"What are you talking about? Your mom totally took care of me."

"She did?"

"Yeah. When I lived with you guys, every night your mom would come in and ask if I needed anything, and I always would say no and she'd never take no for an answer." Brittany smiled as Santana continued rubbing her foot and talking. "She would come in every night and asked where I ached. It was mostly in my feet and lower back. She would spent close to an hour every night giving me a massage. I felt bad because it was like she was bringing work home and whatnot, but she would always insist."

"What about when you got super horny and whatnot?" Brittany hesitantly asked.

"I used Matt." She shrugged, a little bit embarrassed.

"How do you know how to take care of me so well?"

Santana shrugged again.

"The same way you know how to take care of me so well."

"I love you, Sanny."

"I love you too, Britt-Britt."

"What do you want to do today?"

"I'm up for anything. What are you feeling like doing, baby?"

"We can just hang around the house and cuddle?" Santana suggested.

"I love that idea."

Santana smiled and got up. After helping her wife off the ground they went downstairs for breakfast and enjoyed a lazy Saturday.

* * *

Zach walked into the Lopez-Evans household with two weeks worth of laundry.

"I'm home!" He called through the house.

Santana met her son with a smile.

"Hey mijo. Laundry?"

"Yeah...sorry."

"Don't apologize. Britt's doing laundry right now. Hey Britt-Britt! You have another load or two to do!"

"I do?"

"Look who's home."

"Zach!" She said walking into the entrance of the house.

She hugged the boy.

"Hey Brittany." He said, hugging her back.

"You here for the weekend?"

"Uh, sorta. I have a bro-date with my half-brother tonight."

"Bro-date?" Brittany asked, scrunching her nose.

"We're going to hang out at the apartment and order pizza and play Call of Duty."

"Wow. Have you gotten to know him better?" Brittany asked as she picked up her stepson's laundry basket and they all walked to the laundry room.

"Yeah, he's really a cool kid. He has some social issues that makes him awkward sometimes, but he's a really cool kid."

"Would you be okay if we met him some time?" Santana asked.

"Yeah, his mom is actually in Afghanistan right now. She and my dad were deployed around the same time. He could use a second family." He said, with a shrug.

"What does she do? Do you know?"

"She's a lieutenant general. What she's doing over there, not even Raider knows. I don't even know what my dad did over there."

"Could you tell us a little about him?"

"Yeah, he's a freaking kid genius. He just graduated high school. He's 13. He wants to be an aerospace engineer. He's actually pretty hilarious, once you get to know him. His sense of humor reminds me of my dad's a little. He moved here from Hawaii right after high school. He lived with his mom's parents until they moved to Florida once he got into college."

"Is he emancipated?"

"Yeah. He is housed in a bachelor apartment."

"So, basically, he's 13 and lives alone?" Brittany asked, curiously.

"He has selective mutism. So, I'm sure he prefers it that way."

"Ohhh." Both Brittany and Santana said.

"Yeah. He's been through so much."

"We're looking forward to meeting him eventually."

"Let us have a couple more bro-dates. I'll ease him into the chaos that we call the Lopez-Evans family."

"Bro-dates sounds weird." Brittany said.

"We're not chaotic." Santana defended.

"Okay, whatever you want to say, Mom. And if you think about it Britt, that's what my mom and Uncle Puck have when they play Madden without me."

Santana shrugs a little with a sheepish smile.

"Well, bro-date still sounds weird to me." Brittany said, picking up Zach's clothes and putting them in the washer.

"Yeah well, what else am I supposed to call it?"

"Hanging out with your half-brother?"

"That seems so formal." Zach joked.

Brittany laughed and continued to do Zach's laundry.

"Are you at least excited, mijo?"

"Yeah, I've always wanted a brother."

"Well you could be getting two."

"Wait, what?"

"I'm pregnant with twins." Brittany said, beaming.

"Oh wow. That's incredible." Zach said, hugging Brittany.

"Thanks."

"Have you told Riley yet?"

The couple looked a little guilty.

"Are you two serious right now? She lives here."

"She also hibernates in her room, a lot. We only see her in the morning for breakfast and then I see her at the studio and even then she's doesn't talk much. She throws good opinions out every once in a while and then she hibernates in her office finding us new talent and whatnot." Santana defended.

"Have you thought about telling her when you see her at breakfast?"

"She doesn't say much. Just a good morning and then she barely eats and then it's like she's not there." Santana added to her previous statement.

"I went to go check on her earlier, she's still sleeping. She sleeps a lot." Brittany added.

"How long has she been like this?" Zach softly asked.

"I don't even know." Brittany looks down defeated. "It's been going on for a while though and I feel like a bad mother for not realizing it. Taylor realized it before I did."

"Do you think she's, dare I say it, depressed?"

"Maybe, but we can't really get her to talk."

"Have you talked to Taylor about what she's seeing?"

"Briefly." Brittany mumbled. "Damn it, I'm a horrible mother."

"No, you're not." Zach and Santana said at the same time.

Santana pulled Brittany into an embrace and held her.

"Why don't you talk to Taylor to see what she's been seeing since she's been around Riley more." Zach suggested to Brittany, who was falling apart in Santana's arms.

The blonde weakly nodded.

"She's coming over later today." Santana said softly. "We can talk to her then?"

"Okay."

"You aren't going through this alone, beautiful. I'm here, I'm not leaving." Santana reassured her wife.

Brittany weakly nodded.

"Now, speaking of food," Zach said. "Mind if I join you two for lunch?"

"We'd love that mijo."

The three walked back into the kitchen and started lunch together.

* * *

Three hours later, Taylor knocked on the door. Santana answered.

"Hey Taylor."

"Hi Santana." Brittany came from behind Santana and smiled at Taylor. "Hi Brittany."

"Hey sweetie."

"Is Riley up yet? She didn't answer my text."

"I haven't seen her." Santana said.

"Hey Taylor, sweetie, can Santana and I talk to you about her?"

"Sure."

"Why don't you come in?" Santana offered.

"Okay." Taylor said, walking into the living room.

Taylor sat in between the couple and took a deep breath.

"What have you been noticing different about her?" Santana gently asked.

"She's just distant. She sleeps a lot and is easily irritable. And not that you two want to know, but our sex life isn't as active as it used to be." The teenager shifted a little uncomfortably. "Since I've been back, she's canceled almost all of our dates. S-she's showing signs of clinical depression." Brittany had her head in her hands and was shaking her head back and forth. "W-what's wrong, Brittany?"

"She thinks she's a horrible mother. Which she's not."

"San, I didn't even see that my daughter has signs of clinical depression."

"She's been hiding it real well. I didn't notice either and I had it for the first three years of Zach's life."

"Oh, I remember. I was only there for the first three months of it."

"Rachel called it the 'dark hole.' I was going through the motions until Rachel dragged me to the doctor and I started fixing my life."

"What made you want to?" Taylor asked, softly.

"I had a kid to provide for. I had a kid who needed me."

"How do we approach Riley with it?"

"The best thing we could do is set up an ambush." Santana said.

"Is that what Rachel did for you?" Brittany asked.

"Yeah, she got Kurt, Blaine, and your parents in on it. They were everyone who loved me at the time."

"My parents?" Brittany raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, who really looked me in the eyes and told me to get help or they would take my son and raise him themselves. Your parents can be pretty damn intimating when they need to be."

"Yeah, they can."

"Who can we get to be apart of this ambush?" Taylor said, getting the couple back on track.

"You, us, Zach, Brittany's sisters, Quinn, Puck, and we can see if we can get her grandparents and father in on it too."

"When?"

"Tomorrow. I'll get my pilot to fly out to Lima and New York to bring Michael, Vanessa, and Sam. Everyone else is local. It's labor day weekend, everyone has the next day off."

"My parents are just starting their retirement." Brittany added.

"I'm pretty nervous about this Santana." Taylor whispered.

"I know, but we need her to know that we are going to be there for her and that she needs help. How long has this been going on Taylor?"

"In all honesty, I think it started when you two got married."

The couple's eyes went wide. Almost a year and they're now just seeing the signs? They both now felt horrible.

* * *

The next afternoon, Riley came downstairs to see Brittany, Santana, Taylor, Zach, Brittany's sisters and parents, Quinn, Puck, and Sam, all sitting in the living room.

"I didn't realize that there was a party going on here." Riley mumbled.

"We're worried about you, baby girl." Brittany said.

"There's nothing to be worried about."

"Princess, from what your mom, Santana, and Taylor have told all of us. There issomething to worry about." Sam said, with tears forming in his eyes.

"So, I've been quieter. So, I haven't been eating a lot. So, I've been more tired. So I've been sleeping more. Who the hell cares?"

"We all do, baby girl. Every single person in this room." Brittany said, approaching her.

Riley let out a strained chuckle, she was pissed.

"You're shitting me right?" She snapped.

"Princess..." Sam tried.

"What? What the hell do you want? What the hell do you _all_ want? I've done nothing wrong here. Just in the last summer, I've watched him graduate from high school," she said gesturing to Zach, "sat through three of his lame graduation parties, only to have him mope around all summer because of his deadbeat dad. Then I almost lost my girlfriend, not only to the stupid capitol of this stupid state, but because she thought I was cheating on her. Then there's you," she said gesturing to her father, "what's this, 'I want to have a better relationship with you, Princess. Let's Skype once to twice a week.' business? When's the last time we Skyped, huh?" She said, tears developing in her eyes. "Then there's you two," she gestured to Brittany and Santana, "you two want to know something? I knew you were pregnant long before you told us!" She gestured between her and Zach. "You wanna know how? The paparazzo follows the two of you around like a puppy with abandonment issues! Should I be saying congratulations? I hope you two treat your twins with a lot more love then you've ever treated me in the last several years."

"Are you done?" Santana asked.

"I guess."

"Look, I know we haven't been the greatest people or parents in the world." Santana began. "But, it isn't our fault that you don't come to us. Yeah, it takes us some coaxing, but Zach is learning to come to us. We can't help you if we don't know that there's a problem."

Riley, who had been looking at her feet, looked up at Santana with a confused look on her face.

"Why the hell do you care?"

"Because, contrary to popular belief, you're a cool kid and have a huge heart. I love you, that's why I care. Every single person in this room loves you. That's why we're here. That's why your dad and your Nana and Papa flew out here and why your Aunt Jahna, Aunt Sarah, Aunt Quinn, and Uncle Puck practically raced here when we told them how worried we were about you. That's why your girlfriend practically planned this whole ambush. That's why Zach is gave up his date day with Ashleigh to be here for you. We all love you and are extremely worried about your well being." Santana said, softly.

"I'm fine."

"But you're not, sweetie." Jahna said with the most worried look that Riley's ever seen on her aunt's face.

"You know, your Aunt Jahna and I have kids come into our office almost every day during the school year that are in the same situation. But, their problem is they don't have a team of people that love them like you do." Quinn added, with an equally worried look on her face.

Riley sunk onto the couch behind her and buried her face into her hands.

Brittany and Sam sat on each side of her.

"How did this happen, Princess? You used to be one of the most outgoing, talkative person I know." Sam asked, gently.

"I never wanted a stepparent." She whispered. "No offense, Santana." She said looking up at her stepmom.

Santana shrugged it off.

_"What kid would want a stepparent?" Santana thought._

"I was hoping that you two would work your shit out nine years ago, so I wouldn't have that." Riley continued. "Then when you two got a divorce, I prayed every single night that you two would sort out your differences and get back together. I needed my mom and my dad." Sam and Brittany shared a glance. "Then when Santana came into the picture, I saw how happy you were, Mom. That's when I knew that the possibility of me getting my wish of my parents reuniting was next to impossible. And then the cutting started." She lifted her shorts to show them the scars on her upper thigh.

"You said you hit the edge of your bed really hard," Taylor said, swallowing a lump.

"I wasn't going to just say it. The not eating started shortly after that. I only ate enough to get me through soccer practices and games."

"Baby girl..." Brittany said wrapping her in her arms. Sam grabbed her hand.

"What happened to you two?" Riley whispered to her parents.

"What do you mean, Princess?"

"You two loved each other at one point, right?"

The ex couple looked at each other again.

"Yeah, I loved your dad a lot," Brittany started. "But, our relationship never worked out."

"That doesn't mean we love you any less, Princess." Sam added.

"We love you so much."

Riley shot up and looked around the room. Her Aunt Quinn, Aunt Jahna, and Aunt Sarah were all staring at the floor. Her Uncle Puck was playing with his thumbs in his lap. Her grandpa was holding her grandma, both had tear stained faces. Her girlfriend was standing against the wall in the entrance of the living room, staring off into space. Zach was in the fetal position, staring at his shoes. Santana was sitting at her mom's feet staring up at her just like her parents, who were sitting on the couch.

Riley walked out of the room back up into her bedroom, sliding to the sitting position against her door, crying softly.

Sam was the first one to say anything downstairs and it was directed towards Brittany.

"So, our daughter is clinically depressed because we got a divorce, nine years ago and she now just coming to terms with it."

Brittany nodded.

"I thought I gave her enough time between you and Santana. Five years is a lot of time, right?"

"I guess not in our daughter's mind."

A bitter silence filled the house. A silence that nobody in the living room could stand.

"I could see if my girlfriend has any openings at her practice." Puck finally said.

Puck was dating a psychiatrist and it was the first steady relationship he had, like ever.

"Could you?" Brittany asked. "I don't know if our insurance will cover it all, but she needs help. I'll drag her there kicking and screaming if I have to."

Puck nodded.

"Anything to get the happiness back in your daughter." Puck said.

Brittany got up and hugged Puck and kept whispering thank you in his ear.

* * *

A few hours later, Riley emerged from her room. She went downstairs to get a glass of water and saw her grandparents standing in the kitchen staring blankly into space.

They snapped out of it when they heard Riley getting water. She tried to get passed them without them saying anything, but there was no chance.

"Hey Striker." Michael said, softly.

Riley smiled, she loved it when her grandfather called her by her soccer position.

"Hey Papa, Nana."

"Hey sweetie."

"Y-you two are disappointed, huh?"

"We wish we could spend our first week in retirement on better terms, that's for sure." Vanessa said.

"They didn't have to call you."

"Oh, but they did." Michael said. "We're worried."

"There's nothing to worry about."

"Answer this honestly," Michael said, "have you ever thought of suicide?"

"Papa..."

"Please, Riley..."

"Okay. Yes. Plenty of times."

"Riley..." Vanessa breathed.

"I don't want to talk about it, okay?"

"This is serious." Michael said.

The kitchen fell silent. Riley could hear her dad, Uncle Puck, and Zach barbequing in the back. She heard the women talking.

"It's more than just my parents divorce, okay?"

"What else it is it, Ri?" Michael said, with a pained expression on his face.

"I-I just feel worthless, okay? I'm never going to live up to that expectation that you two and my parents had for me when I was born."

The kitchen fell silent until a new voice appeared.

"What do you mean Ri?"

Riley whipped he head around and saw Santana leaning against the wall of the entrance to the kitchen. The brunette was just coming in to let her in laws know that dinner was ready.

"It's nothing, Santana." She mumbled trying to get passed her.

But, Santana stopped the teen by pull her into an embrace.

"Sweetheart," Santana said, holding her stepdaughter close. "You are so special, unique, and important. You have a lot more worth than you're giving yourself credit for. I love you and I'm proud of everything you've accomplished so far in your life. So are you parents, so are your grandparents, and so is everyone else in the backyard."

"It's just so hard. The thoughts going through my head. I just want them all to stop."

Michael and Vanessa slipped passed the stepmother/stepdaughter duo to get to the backyard and to give them some privacy.

Santana hugged Riley tighter.

"I know, I know exactly how you feel."

"You do?"

"I fought clinical depression for the first three years of Zach's life."

"How'd you snap out of it?"

"A lot of therapy and the knowledge that I had a kid who needed me."

"I don't do therapy. And I definitely don't have a kid who needs me."

"Give therapy a shot, you can't diss it until you try it."

"A stranger doesn't need to know my shit, Santana."

"Okay. But, a forewarning, your mom is dragging you to therapy, kicking and screaming if she has to."

"Why?"

"You scared the shit out of both your parents today. Not only did you scare them, you made them both feel like shitty parents. That's why."

Riley started to sob into Santana while the brunette just held her stepdaughter close and ran fingers through blonde hair.

The two stood there as Santana swayed them back and forth. Brittany came in after a little while to check on them. When she did, she saw her wife's face buried into her daughter's hair while her daughter was sobbing into her wife's chest.

Brittany slipped back outside where the rest of everyone else, letting her wife deal with her daughter in the best way she knew how. However, Brittany didn't know how to shake the guilty feeling off from her. She hadn't been the mother she always wanted to be and when she looked at Sam, she could sense he felt like the deadbeat father that Zach had.

* * *

When Santana and Brittany slipped into bed that night, neither one of them knew how to approach each other.

That's until, Santana heard Brittany crying.

"Britt-Britt?" Santana said and for the first time Brittany didn't answer. "Britt-Britt, don't act like you're asleep... I hear you crying."

Brittany turned over in her wife's embrace and buried her face into the brunette's chest.

"What d-did I d-do w-wrong?"

"You didn't do anything wrong, baby." Santana assured as she wrapped her arms around her and rocked the two of them back and forth.

"My baby girl... my baby girl has..."

"I know, baby. I know."

"H-how d-did y-you d-do i-it?"

"Do what, Mi Amor?"

"Recover from clinical depression."

"I had a lot of therapy and antidepressants." Brittany nodded against her chest. "There obviously is a chemical imbalance. I heard her talking to your parents in the kitchen. Your dad asked her if she ever thought of suicide and she said that she has plenty of times."

Brittany cringed at the thought of her baby girl thinking of suicide.

"She's my baby girl..."

"I know, beautiful. I know."

"What if she would've actually gone through with it?"

"Shh, it's okay."

Brittany's cries settled down as she snuggled more into Santana's embrace and fell asleep.

* * *

The next day, Riley woke up in Taylor's arms and heard her girlfriend talking with her mom and Santana. She kept her eyes closed so they wouldn't focus their attention on her.

Not that it mattered, they were talking about her.

"I should've seen the signs better." Taylor said.

"It's not your fault, Tay." Brittany reassured.

"I feel like it is, I mean what girlfriend doesn't notice that the one they love is in a lot of mental and emotional trouble?"

"What parent doesn't?" Brittany was trying to make a point.

"Did you get some sleep last night, Tay?" Santana asked.

"A little. Not much though. What about you two?"

"About the same." Brittany said. "I'm so worried about her."

Riley had enough of all of this, she acted as if she started to stir. When she opened her eyes, she saw Taylor staring down at her and her mom sitting on the edge of the bed and Santana sitting in her desk chair.

"Morning beautiful." Taylor said, dropping a quick kiss to Riley.

Riley acknowledged her girlfriend with a head nod.

"Morning baby girl." Brittany whispered.

"Morning Ri." Santana said, softly.

The smaller version of Brittany just nodded her head in acknowledgement.

"How are you feeling, sweetheart?" Taylor asked, gently, knowing that she cried herself to sleep in Taylor's arms.

Riley shrugged her shoulders.

"Can we get you anything?" Brittany asked.

Riley just shook her head, no.

In Riley's head, she just wanted everyone to leave her alone, but in reality she knew that it wasn't going to happen.

She buried her face into Taylor's lap, hoping that her mom and Santana would just leave.

"Baby girl, we need to talk about all of this." Brittany said softly.

"I don't want to." Riley mumbled into Taylor's lap.

"We need to." Brittany stressed.

"I don't want to." She mumbled again in Taylor's lap.

"Well, I hope you don't mind company," Santana began, "because your mom and I aren't leaving this room until we talk."

Riley looked up at Santana hoping that she was kidding. When she saw the serious look on the brunette's face, she realized that she wasn't.

"What's there to talk about anyway?"

"Santana told me that you told Nana and Papa that you thought about suicide."

"How did you-"

"You don't know how long I was in ear distance, do you?"

"Obviously not."

"Baby girl, this is serious." Brittany said, close to tears again.

"Why the fuck do you two care anyway?"

"Look, Riley," Santana said sternly, "I don't know what going through that messed up head of yours, but your mom and I do care about you."

Riley was taken back by Santana's version of tough love.

"W-what?"

"Look, I know that you've got a lot going through your head right now. And thatis why we want you to go see someone."

"But-"

"But nothing, Riley." Santana continued, standing up. "I know what it means to be putting up a front. I lived years like that. Years before Zach was born and I know how those work. You can act all tough if you want to, but I know it. I created it. I know the act. So, just do yourself a favor and quit the act."

Brittany stood up and put her hands on her wife's shoulders. Calming her down.

Riley stood up, she was Santana's height, so she looked at her at eye level.

"What the hell do you want from me, Santana?"

"I want that girl who used to tell us random facts at breakfast and to talk our ears off about our days at dinner. I want that girl who I had to nicely tell to shut up because she was talking way too fast. I want the Riley that I know back."

"I can't be that person."

"Why not, baby girl?"

"I just can't."

"You see, this is why you should be going to therapy, Ri." Santana said.

"Don't you want to get better? Not have all the problems that you're having now?"

"Yeah." Riley breathed out.

"Then let us help you. Let therapy help you."

"Okay." The teenager breathed out again.

Brittany pulled her daughter in for a hug.

"It going to get better." Santana said with her hand on Riley's back.

"I really hope so." Riley said.

* * *

The chaos of the weekend was slowly down. Puck made arrangements for Riley to go see his girlfriend later that week. Brittany's parents and Sam went back home. Santana, Brittany, and Taylor were holding together a very emotional Riley. And Zach was currently at his apartment with Ashleigh sitting between his legs on the floor propped up against the futon and Raider sitting in a bean chair next to them. The boys were playing Call of Duty as Ashleigh was writing a paper on the laptop in front of her.

"Oh Raider," Zach said, "I was supposed to ask you if you were willing for a second family here in LA."

"W-what d-does t-that mean?"

"My mom and stepmom would like to meet you. You know, be like a second family to you, since you don't necessarily have one here."

"I-I m-mean, I-I guess."

"Just watch out for his mom, she can interrogate like no other." Ashleigh joked.

"W-what d-do you m-mean?"

"She means that the first time, my mom met her, she interrogated her and made her feel awkward. Don't worry about that bro, I'll make sure that she doesn't do that to you."

"B-bro?"

Both Raider and Ashleigh looked at Zach as he shrugged.

"Well yeah, you're my brother, my bro. Calling you my half-brother, just seems weird to me."

"I-I've always w-wanted a b-brother."

Zach smiled at him.

"Me too."

The brother duo continued playing their game as Ashleigh wrote her paper. It was a calmer day compared to the day he had yesterday. There was no yelling. No crying. Just him, his girlfriend, and his brother.

* * *

**End**** Note: **So, there it is! I hope you enjoyed.

Next on TCTDA: Riley recovery, Raider meets the chaos that is the Lopez-Evans family, and more Brittana pregnancy fluff.

It will most likely be after I get back from a week of camping though.

Also before I leave or right after I come back, there will be a one shot that is going to be just Brittana celebrating their one year anniversary. It's in the works. So stay tuned.


	29. To Feel Like Something Special Again

**A/N:** I apologize for the late update! Life got in the way and the one shot should be up tonight or tomorrow.  
Anyway, hope you enjoy this!

* * *

Riley was sitting in the fetal position between her mom and Santana in the waiting room trying not to freak out.

Brittany was rubbing her daughter's back gently. Santana smiled at how maternal Brittany was, knowing that with their kids that she will be just the same.

"How are you feeling Ri?" Santana said, sitting in front of her stepdaughter.

"I feel anxious and scared and tired." Riley said, looking up at the brunette.

"That's normal, sweetheart." Santana said, brushing some hair out of the teenager's face.

"Did you feel this way?"

"Yeah, I did."

"How did you handle it?"

"I took a deep breath, counted to ten, went into my first session with my head held high knowing that I was bettering myself for me and my kid. You being here, doesn't make you weak or less of a person, it actually makes you more of one. Go in there with your head held high. You can do this."

"Okay."

The office door opened and out came Dr. Danielle Matthews or otherwise known as Puck's girlfriend. Santana had met her once when she had lunch with Puck at the studio and saw her again at the company's Christmas party, but she had never said more than a paragraph to the woman.

"Santana and Brittany Lopez with Riley Evans?" She asked.

"Yes." Brittany said, getting up to shake the doctor's hand.

"Since this is your first visit I'd like to speak with all three of you. To let you know about expectations and whatnot."

"Sure." Brittany said, helping her daughter up. Santana stayed back a little. "San, come on."

"Are you sure Dr. Matthews? I mean I'm her stepmom-"

"You're going to be part of the recovery, am I wrong?"

"No, you're right."

"Then, yes, I mean you too."

The three of them followed the doctor into her office. The office was simple and not ostentatious. There were no degrees on the wall telling her clients where she got her degree. There were several small paintings on the wall with several chairs throughout the room and on the desk you can see a framed picture of her and Puck.

"It's similar to the picture on Puck's desk at the studio."Santana thought as she smiled when she saw it.

Santana and Brittany sat on opposite sides of Riley, they both prepared themselves to support Riley in whatever way she needed.

"So, how can I be of service?" She directed the question towards Riley.

"Uhm..." Riley was at a loss for words, looking at her mom for help.

"Over the last several months, actually over the last year or so, she's been withdrawn. She's shown signs of clinical depression, I guess."

"She's been withdrawn? Sleeping a lot more? Really irritable? Change of eating habits? Maybe even thoughts of suicide?"

"Yeah," Riley breathed out.

Dr. Matthews nodded and took some notes on her clipboard.

"When did the two of you start noticing all of this?" Dr. Matthews asked Brittany and Santana.

"About a week and a half ago." Brittany said, looking down, defeated.

No matter how many times, Santana, Zach, and even Riley tell her that it's not her fault for not seeing the signs, she's having hard time believing.

The doctor nodded again and wrote something else down.

"Okay..." Dr. Matthews said, after finishing writing. "So, I'd like you three to know that during this process, I will go slow. I won't pry until you are ready, Riley. Recovering from clinical depression can be tricky, so we will go at the pace you set."

Riley nodded.

"Thank you, Dr. Matthews." Brittany said standing up, the couple taking it as their cue to leave.

"You are welcome."

"We'll be waiting outside for you, baby girl." Brittany said.

"Okay."

Santana crouched in front of the teenager.

"You can do this. We're proud of you."

Santana kissed Riley's forehead.

Riley smiled at how maternal Santana was being with her.

When the couple left the room, Riley made eye contact with Dr. Matthews for the first time.

"You have people around you that really love you."

"I know." The teenager said ducking her head.

"Where do you want to start?"

"I don't know why I feel like this." She said softly.

"Like what?"

"Like a failure. Like I'm not worth anything."

"When did you start feeling like this?"

"I don't know. It comes in phases."

"Do you remember the first time you've felt like this?"

"Yeah. When Santana asked me for my permission and blessing to marry my mom."

"Can you tell me about it?"

"Yeah."

_**Flashback **__(About a year and a half before)_

Riley was confused.

Granted, that didn't surprise her because she was always confused when it came to Santana.

Like, how she managed to be all tough and whatnot, but the moment her mom smiles at the brunette, she turns into mush.

Or like how every time her son had a problem with a girl, a friend, school, or something in life on why she would stop what she was doing to make the world somewhat better for him.

Or even how Santana would go out of her way to make Riley feel comfortable, even if it was awkward comfortable.

But now, she was a hundred times more confused on why Santana is taking her out to dinner, just the two of them.

It would be one thing if it were to a restaurant that the teen had been to before, but it's not a casual yet top of the line expensive steak restaurant.

As Riley was looking for the least expensive thing on the menu. Santana could tell she was nervous.

"You can order whatever you like, kiddo."

"This place is expensive though, Santana." Riley whispered.

"You are just like your mom. It's all good kid. I can afford it."

"Why are you doing this?"

"What?"

"Taking me out to dinner when my mom is swamped with parent/teacher conferences?"

Santana shrugged.

"You deserve to be treated well every once in a while."

"And?"

"And what, Ri?"

"No offense, Santana, but if you reallythought that, this wouldn't be our first time doing this."

Santana smiled a little.

"I knew you would feel this way."

"You did?"

"Yeah and I apologize that I haven't gone out of my way to make you feel like something special and yeah ulterior motive with this dinner. But, the reason why I haven't is because you seemed like you didn't like me."

"What's the ulterior motive?"

"Seriously? That's all you got out of what I just said?"

"Santana..."

"Okay... I want your permission and blessing to propose and marry your mom."

"Really? Why me?"

"Because you're her baby girl."

"You know exactly where I stand with this Santana."

"I know you want your folks back together, but they can't fix what they had kiddo."

"You don't even know what they had."

"I know a lot more than you'll ever give me credit for, Riley."

"Look, it's not that I hate you or anything, it's just you gotta give me time to be used to you making my mom happy instead of my dad making her happy, okay?"

"And, I respect that."

"So, yeah, I guess you have my permission and blessing."

"Thank you, kid."

The two sat for this rest of dinner in a relative silence.

_**Flashback Ended**_

"I guess I've always felt like second best, or third when Zach comes into the picture."

"Why do you think that is?"

"Zach's a lot more outgoing than I am." Riley shrugged.

"What's your relationship like with Santana?"

"Lately?"

"As a whole."

"We're really sarcastic with each other. My mom and Zach question if we even like each other sometimes."

"Do you? Like Santana?"

"Yeah, of course. I couldn't think of anyone who would be better to replace my dad in my mom's life."

"Where is your dad?"

"Upstate New York. Uhm, Buffalo. His company sent him there, full time."

"Do you miss him?"

"Yeah, I miss him more than anything."

"What's your relationship like with him?"

Riley smiled.

"He takes time to sit and really listen to me. He's so proud of me, even if he can't vocalize it at first." She looked down into her lap while continuing. "He used to come to all my soccer games before he moved. He makes me feel safe. We had a dry patch this year, but we're coming out of it. I'm his princess."

"What about your mom?"

The teen ducked her head more.

"She loves me. I know she does, but I think she has trouble showing it. I mean we cuddle sometimes, which is nice. But, we don't have the same relationship that I have with my dad. I mean I know I'm her baby girl, but sometimes I wonder if she loves Zach, Santana's son, more."

"Why do you say that?"

"They have this mother/son like date every week." She said with a shrug. "And like, I guess this is being selfish, but we haven't done much of anything together lately."

"Do you wish you had a similar relationship with your mom that you do with your dad?"

"Yeah."

"Have you ever had a good relationship with her?"

Riley thought about it for a moment, everything was good up until her mom told her that she and her dad are getting a divorce.

She thought back to the last dinner they had as a family.

_**Flashback **__(Riley – Age 7)_

Riley came downstairs one morning.

Her mom was sitting on the couch drinking coffee, checking her email on her phone and her dad had already gone to work.

Or at least that's what Riley thought.

She had seen the tears in her mother's eyes.

"What's wrong, Mom?" The seven year old said, crawling into her mom's lap.

"Nothing, baby girl."

"Mommy..."

She looked up at her mom with vulnerable eyes like telling her that she knows that answer is a load of bull.

"Your daddy and I are just arguing, that's all."

"Are you two getting a divorce?"

Brittany's eyes went wide. She had asked for a divorce last night after learning that Sam had an affair.

"I don't know, babe." The older blonde lied, wrapping her arms around her daughter, who was straddling her, burying her face into the English teacher's chest. "I don't know."

"Where is Daddy?"

"He had to go to work."

"But, it's Saturday."

"I know, he'll be home for dinner though."

"Okay."

The mother held her daughter for the majority of the day. It was like Riley didn't want to let go.

Later that night, when her parents announced over dinner that they are going to get a divorce, none of them suspected that it would cause an unspoken gap between the two female bonds.

"Princess, your mom and I have to talk to you about something."

"What's up?" She said looking up from her dinner plate.

"Your daddy and I are having a lot of problems..." Brittany began.

"And we've decided that it would just be best if we go our separate ways."

"You mean..." Riley tried to get out.

"We're getting a divorce, Princess."

"But, why?"

"Sometimes your problems aren't going to have solutions." Brittany said with a hint of bitterness as she glanced at Sam.

Riley nodded and looked down at her plate. None of them said anything else through the rest of dinner. And Riley didn't say much for a few days afterwards.

It took Riley weeks to process what was going down between her parents. And it took her years to finally forgive them for giving up so easily, in her opinion.

_**Flashback Ended**_

"You mentioned earlier that you have thought of suicide?" Dr. Matthews said, pulling the teenager out of her thoughts.

"Plenty of times."

"Have you ever tried to go through with it?"

"No, but I was close to it once."

"What stopped you?"

"Zach."

"Can you elaborate?"

"I was in our backyard and I was going to drown myself in the pool. He was barbequing with his girlfriend. Our moms were out on a dinner date. I acted as if I fell in the deep end of the pool. I was done. My girlfriend and I weren't talking. My mom was so infatuated with Santana. Zach was the perfect kid with the perfect girlfriend. Just when I thought I had done it, Zach jumped into the pool and saved me."

"He seems like he really cares about you."

"Yeah, he's that big brother, I never had."

"What do you think is the cause of this?"

"I don't know."

"Well, I think we have something to work with." Dr. Matthews smiled.

The rest of the session, Dr. Matthews took time to get to know Riley, easing into the girl's therapy and recovery.

* * *

"Okay, there's no need to be nervous." Zach said to Raider, trying to calm his younger brother down, as he was grilling the steaks on the barbeque in front of him at his mom's house.

"Well, A-Ashleigh didn't m-make m-me f-f-feel any better, l-last night."

Zach rolled his eyes and shook his head, Ashleigh sure didn't make him feel better the night before as she tried to prepare the young teen on meeting his family.

"My mom didn't interrogate her that bad. Besides, I'm not dating you, you're my brother. And they know not to make you feel awkward or to interrogate you with tons of questions. Anyway, they're coming home from Riley's first therapy session, this maybe the easiest meet and greet you've ever been through."

"Okay." Raider finally said, "But, i-if they h-happen t-to a-accidentally make me f-f-feel a-awkward..."

"Just give me a look that lets me know. I know how to deal with my mom and Brittany."

"Okay."

"We're home!"Zach heard Brittany call throughout the house.

"In the backyard!" Zach called through the screen door.

Santana and Brittany showed up at the door, hand-in-hand, thirty seconds later and saw Zach barbequing with Raider sitting in the patio chair next to him.

"Hey mijo." Santana said, hugging her son from behind.

"Hey Mom." He said, leaning back in her tight embrace.

"Hey babe." Brittany said, hugging him after Santana had let go.

"Hey Brittany." He said leaning back in her embrace. After the blonde let go, Zach immediately introduced his brother to the couple. "Mom, Brittany, this is Raider. Raider, bro, this is my mom, Santana and my stepmom, Brittany."

"Hi." He said, sheepishly, putting his hand out for one of them to shake.

Brittany was the first to shake his hand.

"Hi Raider." Brittany said, shaking his hand.

Santana shook his hand next.

"Nice to finally meet you, Raider. We've heard a lot about you."

Raider looked over at Zach.

"Preparing them to not make you feel awkward." Zach glared at his mother.

"Sorry." Santana said.

"N-no, i-it's fine."

"Anyway," Santana said, "why are youbarbequing?" She asked Zach.

"Because I figured that you had a lot on your plate this afternoon. Where's Riley?"

"In her room. She probably has a lot to process." Brittany said.

"S-should I be w-worried a-about your barbequing, b-bro?" Raider jokingly asked.

"No. My mom just always does the barbequing around here."

"I didn't even know that you knew how to work the grill. You know since the one at the apartment is charcoal and this one is gas." Santana jokingly stated.

"Shut up." Zach tried to say nicely.

"Thank you." Riley said, standing at the door.

"You're-you're welcome, Ri. What for though?"

"Making dinner. I needed my mom and your mom this afternoon."

Riley had made her way out and hugged Zach.

"You're welcome." He said hugging her back. "Uhm, Ri, this is my brother, Raider. Raider, this is my stepsister Riley."

Riley inwardly cringed.

_"__Why doesn't he consider me his sister? Only the step? Oh, okay..." She thought._

She stuck her hand out anyway. Shook Raider's hand.

"Nice to meet you," she said.

"Nice t-to meet y-you t-too."

Zach continued to grill the steaks on the grill while his brother was talking with his mom and Brittany.

"So, are you liking LA better than Hawaii?" Santana asked.

"I-I k-kinda like Hawaii b-better. The waves for surfing are better on that side of the Pacific."

"You surf?" Santana asked.

"Y-yeah. Z-Zach and I surfed together last weekend."

"Oh, no wonder you asked if you could borrow my board." Santana winked at her son.

"Yeah." Zach said, looking up from the grill. "I used your board though. My board is less maintenance than yours."

"I take offense to that mijo." The brunette said, jokingly.

"Whatevz." Zach said, winking at his mom.

The threesome were having casual conversation when Riley slipped inside, it didn't go unnoticed by Brittany who was watching her daughter carefully and followed her in.

The whole way home, she was quiet, with earbuds in her ears while staring out the window. She kept thinking about the reason behind why her parents weren't together anymore.

Dr. Matthews had suggested that maybe she didn't have full closure with the whole thing and maybe that's triggering her depression.

"Baby girl?" Brittany said softly, noticing that her daughter was crying.

"I'm fine. I'm fine." The teen kept repeating.

"Baby girl, c'mere." Brittany sat on the couch and waved the teenager to come sit next to her.

"I-I-I c-can't."

Riley went into herself, trying to get away, but Brittany grabbed wrist. Riley managed to get out of the hold.

"Baby girl..." Brittany was slightly offended that Riley was acting this way.

"I c-can't-t." The teenager whimpered.

"Talk to me, please." Brittany said, softly pleaded.

"Why'd you give up on him?" Riley spat as she turned around.

"What?" Brittany was confused.

"Why'd you give up on him?" The teenager repeated the question.

"Give up on who, baby girl?"

"Who else? Dad."

"Baby girl, it's complicated."

"It may have been complicated for me the age of seven. I'm sixteen now. Don't pull that on me. Not now."

"Okay, sit down for me please."

When the teenager sat down, Brittany took a deep breath.

"Your father had an affair."

"What?"

"We struggled a lot towards the end of our marriage and one night he hadn't come home, so I figured that it was just because work kept him there late. He came home and had a guilty look on his face and that's when he told me. It pushed me over the edge and that's when I asked him for a divorce."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"I knew how much you respected him and I didn't want that to die because of one mistake he made when you were seven."

"He had an affair?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry, baby girl."

Riley stood up, continuing to shake her head. She couldn't believe that her daddy had an affair.

"No. That's not true."

"Baby girl..."

"Death do you part is supposed to mean something."

"Riley..."

"I-I need an out right now."

Riley stared into her mother's blue eyes silently pleading that she just give her some space. Just like Santana and Zach had an out system, so did they.

"Okay, baby girl. Do you want me to come get you for dinner?"

"Sure."

Brittany nodded and let Riley go up to her room to calm down and process things.

* * *

When Brittany went up to go get Riley almost an hour later, she heard her daughter talking with her dad on Skype through the door.

_"__Is it true though?"_

_"__Unfortunately." He sighed._

_"__Why'd you do it?"_

_"__It was a one night stand. I was in a bar after another argument with your mother."_

_"__But, it still happened though."_

_"__I wish it hadn't though."_

_"__I need closure with this, Daddy."_

_"__Yeah?"_

_"__You and Nicole are getting serious. Mom and Santana have twins on the way. I need closure to be myself again. And, I know that takes time, but I need it."_

_"__Okay, Princess. Okay."_

_"__I-I love you, Daddy."_

_"__I love you too, Ri."_

_"__There's been this unspoken gap and tension between me and my mom and I don't know how to tell her."_

_"__Be honest with her, Princess."_

_"__Okay."_

_"__She wants to be there for you, let her be."_

_"__I guess you're right."_

Brittany slid to the sitting position outside her daughter's bedroom door. She sat there for a few moments with tears in her eyes.

Santana came and sat across from her wife and didn't say anything. She heard the tail end of the father and daughter's conversation.

_"__What are you thinking about, Princess?"_

_"__About how I should be honest with my mom and Santana, but can't get myself to do it."_

_"__How are you so honest with me?" Sam asked._

_"__Because throughout the divorce and whatnot, you still made an attempt to be there for me, while my mom just checked out. I have a better relationship with you than I do her."_

_"__Maybe it's time to build that relationship."_

_"__Maybe. I know she loves me, but I think she doesn't know how to show it for me to understand."_

_"__Well, I have to go, Princess."_

_"__Okay, thanks for calming me down, Daddy."_

_"__You're welcome. I'm here if you need anything."_

_"__Okay."_

_"__I love you."_

_"__I love you too, Daddy."_

The room went silent and that's when Santana helped Brittany off of the ground and they got Riley for dinner.

* * *

The five of them were sitting around the table outside in the backyard. Light conversation to keep the awkwardness at bay wasn't helping the situation at all.

"So, Raider, what exactly are you studying?" Santana asked.

"Aerospace engineering."

"So you wanna build airplanes and whatnot?"

"Yeah a-and I d-didn't wanna g-go the military route like a-all of my family." Santana nodded. "I-it's nothing l-like the j-journalism m-major here." He said gesturing to Zach, who just shrugged.

"Aerospace engineering is way cooler, bro." Zach said, with a half smile.

"Yeah, I guess."

"The steak is good, mijo."

"Yeah, really good babe." Brittany said placing a hand on Santana's thigh.

"Thanks." The football player says sheepishly.

Riley was picking at her food, she wasn't really eating. She feels a kick to her shin and she looks up making eye contact with Santana, who gives her a look.

The stepmother/stepdaughter duo had a silent conversation before Riley got up and went into the house. Brittany was about to get up, but Santana beat her to it.

"I got it, Mi Amor. You can finish eating."

"Okay, thank you honey."

Santana walked into the kitchen where Riley was refilling her water.

"What the hell is going on with you?"

"Oh? I'm sorry? Whatever happened to being supportive, Lopez?"

"I am being supportive, Evans. But, you picking at your food, and not eating isn't going to help your recovery." Riley took a deep breath. "Look, I know you found out about your folks tonight, but don't let that hold you back from living life."

"Okay." The teenager breathed out.

"So, can you do me a favor and go back outside and eat all, if not most of your dinner?" Riley nodded. "C'mere kid." The brunette said with her arms open to hug the teenager. Riley just all, but fell into Santana's embrace. "It gets better and if you ever just need someone who has gone through it, to talk to, I'm here, sweetheart. I'm so here."

Riley nodded.

"Thank you for not just giving up on me."

"You're welcome."

The two stood there for a few minutes just hugging.

Riley Evans, was getting better, one day at a time.

* * *

Santana took a deep breath, Brittany was 14 weeks pregnant and they were going to find out the gender of their babies.

Santana was trying not to be a visible mess like she has been in the past, but she was still freaking out on the inside.

Dr. Montgomery walked into the room with a smile on her face.

"You folks ready to find out more about your babies?" She said in a voice that was a little more cheery than normal.

"Yes." Brittany said holding Santana's hand.

"Alright, let's get this party started."

There was clicking of the keyboard after gel was applied onto Brittany's 14 week baby bump.

"Alright, see that one there," Dr. Montgomery asked, pointing the screen, the couple nodded. "That would be your son and then that one there," she pointed to the screen again, "would be your daughter."

"A boy and a girl?" Brittany said as she watched her wife's eyes go wide.

"Yes, ma'am." Dr. Montgomery said, smiling. "Congratulations, Moms."

Santana's eyes went wide.

"Are you okay, honey?" Brittany asked.

"Yeah, just wasn't expecting that. That's all."

"Were you like this with your baby boy?" Dr. Montgomery joked.

"No, I was a lot worse because I was 17 and not ready to be a parent."

"You'll be just fine, Santana." The doctor reassured.

The doctor left the room a few minutes later, to let Brittany get changed and the couple left the office hand-in-hand with smiles on their faces.

Life was good, even with the unexpected.

* * *

**End Note:** So there you go! I'll try to get the next update up sooner now that summer school is coming to an end.

On a complete side note: Like most of this fandom, I am shocked and completely overwhelmed by the death of Cory Monteith. My condolences go out to the Monteith family, the friends, the cast and crew of Glee, and most definitely Lea Michelle.  
Glee was already awkward and weird to me in season four and I had hopes that everything would come together in the end, but it will never be the same without the dopy, half smile and cute awkwardness that Cory brought to the show.

Rest In Peace, Cory Monteith, on a midnight train going anywhere!


	30. To Realize How Short Life Is Again

**A/N:** Hey TCTDA Readers! I apologize that this chapter is so late. Life is good at getting in the way. I'm currently on vacation at a small family reunion where we're not doing much of anything, so I should be working on the next chapter this week. Also, if you don't know, I posted the One Shot a few weeks ago. Go on my page to find it!  
So, here's chapter 30! Oh and heads up, there's a lot of Riley's POV in this chapter.

* * *

Riley has defined her recovery as hell.

She has her good days, where everything is sunshine and rainbows.

Then she has days, where she wonders why she's still alive.

Dr. Matthews said that her body is just adjusting to the medication.

She was trying to mend a broken relationship with her mother.

She was trying to maintain the long distance, somewhat steady relationship with her father.

She was trying to act like life was good and dandy to force her body and mind to tell it that her life is.

It was a Thursday evening when she first got the reality check while she was cuddled in between her mom and Santana while watching the evening news.

* * *

_"__And now to another story that has been breaking all afternoon, Lieutenant General Jessica Snyder of the United States Marine Corps, has been confirmed dead on the front lines of Afghanistan today after a car exploded on the streets. Our condolences go out to Lieutenant General Snyder's family and friends..."_

Brittany switched the channel to something more pleasant, like ESPN, as Santana picked up her phone and called Zach.

_"__Hello?" His voice sounded a little distracted._

"Hi mijo. How are you?"

_"__You just watched the evening news didn't you?"_

"Yeah..."

_"__He's doing better than I did when my dad died. They didn't have a good relationship. She always put work first and whatnot."_

"How are you?"

_"__I'm fine, I didn't know her." Zach chuckled._

"I know, but you're being an awesome big brother right now to Raider right?"

Riley heard her say that and rolled her eyes.

_"__I mean I guess. I just bought the kid sushi and I'm allergic to seafood and whatnot."_

"You have your epipen on you, right?"

_"__Yeah, I always do. Why?"_

"Just checking."

_"__I find it funny that you try to be a badass, but when it comes to me or Brittany you turn into this bowl of soft mush."_

"I'd do that for Riley too."

_"__I know you would Mama." Zach said softly. "How's she doing?"_

Santana left the room to answer that question.

"Umm... she's doing alright. Her body is getting used to the medication. So she has her good moments and her bad. But, she's opening up to us more."

_"__That's good. Hey... is it okay if I bring Raider to dinner tonight? He may say he's fine, but I know how I was the night I found out my dad died. I don't want him to be alone. Ash has him preoccupied right now."_

"Yeah, mijo. We'll make dinner for five."

_"__Thanks Mama."_

"You're welcome, mijo. See you in an hour."

_"__I love you, Mama." He said in a soft, tender voice._

"I-I love you too, mijo."

There was something about Zach lately. Ever since his father's death and Riley's ambush that he's been more open with how he feels. Always telling his mom, Brittany, and even Riley that he loves them, always hugging them and kissing their cheeks before he left, and always having this go-getter, life is short, attitude.

It made Santana smile.

When they hung up, Santana walked back into the family room where Riley was now sitting on the floor leaned up against the couch watching tv and Brittany was lying on the couch with her eyes shut. Santana went over and started to rub her wife's feet as she had been complaining about how bad hurt ankles had been hurting lately.

* * *

Raider sat awkwardly at the Lopez-Evans family dinner table. It was his third time having dinner with this family. He always felt like he was intruding.

But, they always seem to include him.

"So, Raider, how's USC treating you?" Santana asked.

"G-good." He managed to get out.

"Enjoying your classes?" The brunette asked, trying to keep the conversation alive.

"Y-yeah. I got all the GE classes outta the way in Hawaii over the summers while I was in high school. So, I'm solely working on my major."

"That's cool."

Raider nodded looking down at his plate, sadly.

"Are you okay?" Brittany asked, trying to make contact.

"Y-you guys know about my mom right?"

"Yeah, we just were trying to make you comfortable and only talk about it if you wanted." Santana said, softly.

"I f-found out this morning. Before s-school."

"We figured."

"I-it's my b-birthday today," the younger teen said, softly.

Everyone's eyes went wide.

"Bro..." Zach let out.

"Raider..." Santana and Brittany said softly.

"Wow..." Riley said, when her head flew up.

"It's whatever, you know? Just another day."

"It's more than just another day, bro." Zach said.

"Why didn't you say anything before?" Brittany asked.

"S-sorry, B-Brittany..." He stuttered out. "I-I just have never been a h-huge fan of my b-birthday."

"I'm sorry." Brittany said, reaching across the table placing her hand on the young teenager's forearm. "Is there anything we can do?"

"Why are y-you guys making me feel so d-damn w-welcome?" The young teenage boy asked softly. "D-don't get me wrong, I-I love that you g-guys treat me l-like apart of this f-family, b-but I don't get why."

"You are family, kid." Santana said, in a soft voice that is only reserved for family. "Yeah, it's an awkward situation. But, you are family. You're my boy's brother. And you're a pretty damn good kid. Life hasn't necessarily handed you an easy hand of cards and you've shown that you can handle life at it's toughest. We admire that. Now, we don't expect you to be calling us 'Mom'and 'Mama'because let's just face it, that's downright creepy. But, we know that you don't necessarily have family here right now. And we can't imagine being where you are. Now, 14 years old in college with no parents to lean on. We're not going to be parents to you, but if you ever need parental-like figures, we're here."

Raider looked at the sincerity in Santana's eyes.

"You know, you're not as bad as everyone says you are, Santana," the 14 year old let out after a moment.

"My softer side is reserved for my family." The music producer said with a shrug.

"Well, I'm honored to be apart of it then." He said.

Santana smiled at the boy as she went back to her dinner.

Riley sat there in awe of how comfortable Santana just made him feel totally comfortable in the chaos that is known as the Lopez-Evans family.

* * *

The second time Riley realized that life was short was the next day, on Friday.

She and her mom were leaving the office of her therapy appointment. The soccer player was having three days a week with Dr. Matthews.

The teenager was sitting in the passenger's seat staring out the window, after an hour and a half of being open and vulnerable about what goes on in her head and life.

Her mom had a comforting hand on her thigh because in a weird way, it comforts her and Brittany just knows it does.

Then she heard something she wasn't expecting on the radio...

_"__We're getting breaking news that Aaron Thompson, the rising pop star, was found dead in his hotel room in Chicago. The cause of his death is still unknown, but we are closely following this story..."_

"Wow," Brittany said focusing on the road and her daughter, "how old was he?"

"My age. Just turned 17."

"Who was he? I mean I've heard the name before, but never really knew who he was."

"He was our generation's version of your generation's Justin Bieber."

"Ohh."

"He was better though. Vocal and musician wise. I can't imagine what his hardcore fans are feeling or his family and friends and team and whatnot."

"I can't imagine."

Riley sat there, with her mom's hand still lying comforting on her thigh, her therapist had just said that she should be open and honest with her mom about feelings and stuff, and she figured that there's no time like the present.

"Mom?"

"Yes, baby girl?"

"D-do you have plans with Santana tonight?"

"Nope, we have a date day tomorrow though. Why?"

"I-I was wondering if we could do something t-together-r. A-and t-talk-k."

"Of course, baby girl. Burgers from Logan's?"

Riley nods; Logan's was their special mother/daughter spot.

"Yeah, thank you Mom."

"You bet, baby girl. Do me a favor and text Santana? Let her know that she could do dinner with Zach again if she wanted to."

"Okay."

Riley pulled her phone out and typed out a text message to her stepmom:

_To: Santana_

_Hey, my mom and I are going to go out to dinner tonight and talk about stuff._

_Sent: Friday, September 21__st__, 5:47pm_

She placed her phone in her lap. She knew that Santana would understand what she was talking about, they had been getting closer with Riley still interning at Rockstar Recording Company and just because Santana gave her a half an hour every night when Brittany was grading papers and homework assignments.

When her phone buzzed, it was Santana giving the teenager some encouragement.

_From Santana:_

_Sounds good kiddo. Remember to be open and honest... your mom loves you so much. She just wants you to be honest with her. I love you, as well. You got this._

_Sent: Friday, September 21__st__, 5:50pm_

Riley smiled, Santana had started showing the softer side of her lately.

And like Raider, Riley was honored.

_To Santana:_

_Thank you for the encouragement. I needed it. She just said you could go have dinner with Zach tonight if you wanted._

_Sent: Friday, September 21__st__, 5:51pm_

Riley put her phone down and grabbed the hand that was on her lap. She looked over to Brittany who was smiling as she drove down the road. She looked down when her phone buzzed.

_From Santana:_

_You're welcome kid. You mean a lot to me... and your mom. And I'm already on campus waiting for Zach to get out of football practice. I guess mother/child dates are what are going to happen tonight._

_Sent: Friday, September 21__st__, 5:52pm_

"She's already on campus, waiting for Zach to get off of football practice." Riley said, looking at her phone.

"Yeah, he has a pretty good game tomorrow." Riley nodded. "It's part of our date day." Riley nodded, again.

Brittany pulled into Logan's. They got out in silence and as they were walking into the restaurant, Brittany wrapped her daughter in her arms.

"I love you, baby girl." Brittany said, softly.

"I love you too, Mom." Riley said, softly, burying herself in her mother's embrace.

The mother/daughter duo walked inside and sat in their normal booth.

They used to do mother/daughter dates all the time before Brittany and Santana got married.

"How was your day, baby girl?" Brittany asked as she looked over the menu.

"It was alright. Nothing special. How was your day?"

"It was good. Long though."

"How are you feeling? Santana mentioned that you are still suffering from morning sickness."

"I'm doing better. Thanks sweetie." Riley shrugged and looked back down to her menu. "So, what's up baby girl?"

"What do you mean?"

"You said you wanted to talk?"

"Oh right. Umm... where do I start? I said this to my dad right after my first appointment with Dr. Matthews, but I have yet to say it to you." Riley stopped and took a deep breath. "I need closure with your and Dad's divorce. He and Nicole are getting serious. You and Santana have twins on the way. I need closure to be myself again. And, I know that takes time, but I need it."

"Okay, baby girl." Brittany said reaching over and putting her hand on the teenager's forearm.

"We used to be so close. Then you and my Dad started having problems. Then you checked out for a while. Then Santana came into the picture. Then you two got serious, followed by married. Then you and Zach started getting closer. I-I started feeling replaced in your life and not important. And I guess that's a huge factor in my depression." Riley's head fell as she said that.

Brittany was speechless because as she listened to her daughter talk, she realized that her daughter was right. And that feeling of being a failure of a mother came back.

"Baby girl, I'm so sorry. I know I probably can't make up the last nine years, but I want to try."

"I just want you to be there for me, even if that means you have to give up some cuddle time with Santana." The teenager said, softly. She looked down again, ashamed to even be asking her to give up some cuddle time with Santana.

"Hey, look at me." Brittany said, bringing her daughter's chin up with her fingers, meeting young, vulnerable blue eyes. "You don't have to be ashamed about it. I'll gladly give up some of my cuddle time with Santana for you."

"Really?"

"Of course."

"You're not just saying that because you feel like a bad mom?"

"I won't lie, it does make me feel like a bad mom, now that I think about it. You going to live with your dad for a few months now makes sense. You hiding in your room when Santana and I watched college football or something with Zach makes sense. Your somewhat hurtful banter with Santana and Zach makes sense. It makes sense why you're recovering from depression. I can't express how sorry I am right now."

"I love you, you know? You're just not the mom I had before the divorce."

"I know. I'll try to be better now that I know, okay? Santana's been giving you like a half an hour every night. Just you and her. What if we make this a habit? These mother/daughter dates? Like we did when Santana and I were dating and she was having her mother/son date with Zach. Once a week. Just you and me. Then you can come into my office every day for lunch. I'm trying to do a lot at work before I take maternity leave. But, I want to rebuild a relationship with you."

"What about your mother/son like dates with Zach?"

"Since he's started college he gives me Sunday nights. He and Santana have Friday nights, if he's not playing a game. What if I give you Friday nights?"

"Yeah, Taylor and my date nights are Saturday nights anyway." Riley said, lowly.

"Okay."

"What if Zach wants you to go watch him play on a Friday night?" Riley said, insecure that her mom would choose Zach over her again.

"Then I'll tell him no. You're just as important baby girl... if not more."

"Okay. Even after the babies are born?" Riley asked.

"Yeah, give me a week or two though." Brittany said with a small smile.

"Okay."

"And I need to know if you're ever feeling unwanted or replaced, does that make sense?"

"Yeah."

"C'mere." Brittany gestured to her daughter coming over to her side of the booth. When Riley went over to her mom's side of the booth, she buried her face into her mother's shoulder. "I love you so much." Brittany whispered.

The mother/daughter duo sat there for a few minutes in silence before Brittany ordered for the two of them.

They found a connection that they hadn't found in a long time and they were going to enjoy it.

* * *

When Santana and Brittany were getting ready for bed that night, Brittany was quiet. And although Brittany normally was quiet at night, Santana sensed that there was more to it.

She walked over to her wife and wrapped her arms around her waist.

"You okay, Mi Amor?" She kissed the blonde's neck.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine."

"You seem tense, do you want a back rub?"

"I'd love a back rub." Brittany said, softly.

"Go sit over there," Santana gestured, softly with her head, to their bed. "I'll get the oil."

Brittany sat on the bed and got rid of her shirt. Less than a minute later, Santana was sitting behind Brittany rubbing her shoulders.

"So, do you wanna tell me what's really bothering you?" Santana asked, softly.

"I'm a horrible parent." Brittany mumbled, looking down. Tears threatening to fall.

"No, you're not Britt-Britt." Santana said softly in her ear.

"You know, my daughter felt replaced and unimportant for a long time. And I was the cause of that."

"I know. She told me. I just didn't know how to tell you." Brittany nodded, her wife's voice is so soothing. The brunette continued to rub and knead her wife's tense muscles. "You know, she doesn't think your a bad parent. She knows that you love her. You're going to be with her now."

"I know, but-"

"But, nothing beautiful. You were there with the family when we ambushed her into getting help. You were there rubbing her back when she was in the fetal position right before her first appointment with Danielle. You have been there recently, now just continue to be there for her. Love on her. She needs you." Brittany nodded. "I know, it sucks. But, you're a great mother. Why do you think I agreed to be a parent with you to these little ones?" Santana gestured to Brittany's stomach with her head, as she rubbed the blonde's lower back. "You're such a good mom, Britt-Britt. It's something I admire about you."

"Thanks baby." Brittany said softly. "You really know how to calm me down."

Santana shrugged and smiled.

"I try."

* * *

Two days later, Brittany was picked up by Zach for their mother/son like date.

When she got into Zach's truck, she noticed something was off about him. They drove most of the way in silence until Brittany broke it.

"So, how are you doing?"

"I'm alright. How are you?"

"Good. Your brother and sister keep kicking around like crazy though."

Zach chuckled.

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that you two are having twins." Zach said lowly.

Brittany smiled.

"Yeah, neither can your mama. It's still mind blowing information to her."

"Yeah, I can imagine." He mumbled.

"Are you okay, babe?" Brittany asked, placing a comforting, motherly hand on his thigh.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Zach said with a small smile. "Long day, that's all. I'm still working at the diner on the weekends when I'm not playing football and during the week early in the morning before school."

"How are you managing?"

"I don't even know." Zach said with a chuckle.

"How's Ash?"

"She's good." He said with a megawatt smile. "She's real focused on school right now. Her counselor was telling her that she could finish most of her prereqs for premed in two years, a year and a half if she does summer school. Since she did half junior college, half high school for sophomore through senior year, it helped her out a lot. Everything transferred over."

"That's awesome."

"Yeah, she's been preparing for this since like elementary school. She's just so happy that she finally gets to put her preparations into action now."

"That's so cool. How are you two doing together?"

"We're doing good. Everything is headed in the right direction."

"Do you think she's the one?"

"Absolutely. She makes me so happy and she cares about me so much and vise versa." He shrugged a little. "This is different from any other relationship I've been in. It's healthier."

"Yeah, I can tell."

"How's Riley doing?"

"She's doing okay. She hit a wall today, but was brave enough to come to me and tell me about it. Which is progress."

"Yeah, major progress." Zach agreed.

"How's Raider?"

"I don't even know. He's so strong. He's still hasn't broken down. Or he has and it was alone, but it still surprises me, you know?"

"Yeah, for sure. Are you really doing alright, though?" Brittany asked, as Zach pulled into a Huntington Beach parking structure.

"Yeah, why?"

"You just seem off."

"I'm just tired. Long day."

"It feels like something else though."

Zach sighed as he parked the car, got out, and opened Brittany's side for her. He helped her out of the car, like a gentleman. Pulled her into a side embrace while they were walking.

"It's just everything with Raider dealing with his mom being gone and how he's handling it really makes me miss my dad more than I did before."

"It's okay to miss him, babe." Brittany said, leaning into her stepson's strong embrace. "Just means you have this thing, that you and your mom don't like to admit you have, called feelings." Zach chuckled and nodded his head. "Is there something else wrong?"

"Exactly a year ago today, he came back into my life." He shrugged.

"Babe..."

The two sat on a bench as Zach tried to pull himself together.

"C-can you..." Zach stuttered, embarrassed to even ask the question he was going to ask.

"Can I what, sweetie?"

It took Zach a couple of moments before he had the courage to say it.

"C-can y-you hold me?"

"Oh honey," Brittany said, opening her arms and embracing her stepson.

"T-thank you."

"You bet, babe."

The stepmother/stepson duo sat on the bench, listening to the waves hit the shore. Brittany holding Zach.

* * *

Santana was barbequing dinner for her and Riley, since Brittany was out with Zach.

Riley was sitting in the lawn chair watching the sunset from behind the fence line. Santana noticed how quiet she was.

"You alright kid?"

"Did you ever hit a wall during your recovery?"

"Oh yeah, plenty of times. Why?"

"I think I've hit one or am close to it."

Santana put the lid down to the barbeque pit and immediately walked over to her stepdaughter.

"Wanna talk about it?" Santana asked, softly crouching down, looking up at Riley.

"I just woke up this morning and I just felt like I did before the ambush, you know? Alone. Terrified."

"You've been feeling like this all day?"

"I forced myself out of bed and basically ran to my mom like a scared little girl."

"That's why you've been cuddling with her all day."

"Yeah, when I told her, she immediately wrapped me in her arms."

"Your mom is good like that."

"Yeah, she is."

"How are you doing right now?"

"To be honest, I don't know."

"And, that's okay." Santana said, stroking the teenager's cheek.

"How'd you deal with hitting the wall? I mean I know the circumstances were different. You had Zach and stuff."

Santana got up to check their steaks as she answered her stepdaughter's question.

"The first time I hit the wall, I was dating this girl and she was a psychiatrist. Not the psychiatrist I was seeing to help me get better, but another one. Anyway, we were sitting at her place, and I was holding her. And she noticed that something was off and asked me if I was okay. And my first defense mechanism was to lie and say yeah. But, we had just gotten through the conversation of we need to be open and honest with each other. So when I told her that I just hit a wall and I didn't know what to think, how to feel, or even what to say. She cuddled more into me and told me that it was just part of the recovery."

"That's kinda not helpful." Riley said, softly.

"Yeah, but in that moment it did help me. Knowing that at least I was somewhat moving forward." Riley nodded. Santana pulled the two steaks off of the grill. "It gets better, kid. That I can promise you. It just takes time." Riley nodded again. "And your mom and I will be there 100% of the way. No matter what."

"Even if it's in the middle of the night?" Riley asked softly sitting at the patio table.

"Even in the middle of the night." Santana confirmed.

"Okay." Riley said, just above a whisper.

"Have you needed us in the middle of the night lately?"

"Just when the nightmares are vivid."

"Why haven't you come to us, kid?"

"Because it's a little weird for a sixteen year old to crawl into bed with Mommy because of a nightmare."

"Not when you're recovering from depression."

"I just don't want to interrupt and intrude on your guys' alone time."

"You're our first priority, kid. We aren't going to make you go through this alone. Recovering from clinical depression is a scary journey. I know it firsthand." Santana said, placing her hand on the teenager's hand. "I won't make you go through it alone."

"Thank you, Santana."

"I love you, kid."

"I love you too."

Riley looked down at her food and just stared at it.

"You gonna eat?" Santana asked, after a few moments.

"Yeah." Riley looked up and smiled at Santana.

Riley dug into her food while Santana changed the topic to something small.

Riley was thankful that the brunette knew when to change the subject. She was thankful that Santana knew not to push her.

She knew her recovery was going to be a long haul, but she knew how much it was worth it.

So, she'd be willing to go through hell, if something better and beautiful was on the other side.

* * *

**End Note: **Hope you guys enjoyed that!

If you ever want to talk about TCTDA or just say hi, you can hit me up on tumblr: **Guitarkiddodgerfan**


	31. To Be A Mama Bear Again

**A/N:** Hey readers! I really mean to get this up sooner, but after I got home from my lame ass family reunion, I was too tired to do anything. So here you go! Oh and also, this is another chapter of dealing with Riley's recovery. Just a heads up!

* * *

Brittany had Santana pinned on the bed, they were making out heatedly after a romantic date that Santana had planned for them.

Santana thought half of it was because she planned a thoughtful, romantic date for them and the other half was pregnancy hormones because this was the fourth time this week that she found herself pinned to the bed with her wife's lips attached to hers.

Brittany moved her lips to Santana's neck. Things were getting pretty heated when they heard a small knock on the door.

Santana and Brittany shared a knowing look. It was 11:30 at night, they had been making out heatedly for almost two hours.

Brittany nodded, remembering that they were putting Riley first in this time of recovery.

"Come in, Ri." Santana called.

Riley poked her head in through the door.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"Of course not," Brittany said with a soft smile. "C'mere baby girl."

Riley slowly made her way to the couple's bed, crawling into her mother's loving embrace.

"Nightmare?" Santana asked.

Riley nodded.

"Wanna talk about it?" Brittany asked, as she ran her fingers through her daughter's hair.

"It's the same nightmare that I've been having since the beginning of all this. I'm the only person in the world, but I hear voices and I don't know where they are coming from. And then finally when I see somebody, it's usually you, Santana, will come and suffocate me with something. It feels so real."

Santana's eyes went wide.

"Kid, I'd never do that to you." Santana said, softly, "Can you come here? Let me hold you for a little while?" Riley nodded and shifted from her mom to her stepmom. Brittany smiled at how Riley practically melted in her wife's arms. "I love you kid. So damn much."

"I love you too, Tana."

Santana brought the teenager closer to her holding her as close as she could. She looked up at her wife and shared another knowing look. The look of, something more is going on. Brittany scooted in and placed her hand on Santana's hip. The three of them didn't have much to say as they lied there cuddling together.

"Whatcha thinking about baby girl?" Brittany whispered.

Riley buried her face into Santana's chest before answering.

"I'm just so overwhelmed." She said, softly and somewhat broken. "I know they said junior year is always the hardest, but adding this recovery to it makes it harder."

"What can we do to help?" Santana asked, running her fingers through the teenager's hair.

"Right at this moment?"

"Mhm?" Santana said, continuing to run her finger through her stepdaughter's hair.

"J-just hold me, please." Her voice was broken. The teenager was on the verge of tears.

"Shh, we got you." Brittany said, softly. Locking eyes with Santana not knowing what to do from here.

Santana rocked Riley back and forth with soothing words to calm her down. When the teenager fell asleep, Brittany got up to turn off the lights.

And that's how the three of them lied. Cuddled up next to each other making Riley feel safe.

* * *

Santana walked into work the next day and it was evident that she didn't sleep much. Riley woke up a couple of times crying after a nightmare. So both Santana and Brittany spent most of the night consoling her.

"Hey Lopez." Puck said.

"Hey Puckerman." Santana said with a yawn going through some mail.

"No offense, but you look like hell."

"None taken, I'm sure I do. Our intern had a rough night last night, so in return so did Brittany and I."

"That's sounds rough."

"Yeah."

"I'll get your assistant to get you a Red Bull or something."

"Thanks Puck."

"Anything for you. Oh and you have someone waiting for you in your office."

"Who?"

"Dr. Carlos Lopez." In a horrible faux Spanish accent.

"My brother?" Her eyes went wide.

"Yup."

"What's he doing here?"

"I don't know." Puck said with a shrug.

"Oh and Puck?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't try to have a fake Spanish accent ever again."

Puck laughed.

"Whatevz, Lopez. Whatevz."

"Have you been hanging out with my son?"

"Yeah, why?"

"He says whatevz a little too much."

Puck laughed and walked into his office.

Santana walked into her office finding her brother sitting on the couch. Her brother, Carlos Lopez, with dark, thick wavy hair. He was older than her by six years. He was her hero growing up and if she was completely honest he was still her hero.

He was a neurosurgeon at the USC Medical Center. He saved lives, he always had. And that's why Santana looked up to him.

He was looking at the pictures on the wall across from where he was sitting on the couch. It was wedding pictures. A picture of her and Zach before the ceremony. Her and Brittany during the ceremony. Her and Riley dancing during the reception. And the four of them sitting at the table during the reception.

"Carlos?"

"Hi Santana."

"Um, uh, w-what are you doing here?"

"You've been in Los Angeles for how long now and you have yet to come see me?"

"Bro..."

"You know the only reason why I knew that your company existed is because your niece is a hug fan of that boy band that is signed here? What is it? Monday Morning Leads?"

"Y-yeah."

"So I decided to look them up, to get tickets to the show at the Staples Center for her birthday. Only to learn that they are signed to find out that they are signed to Rockstar Recording Company based in downtown Los Angeles, co-owned by Noah Puckerman and Santana Lopez."

"B-bro... l-lemme e-explain..."

"Explain what? Explain why you've been here for four years and you didn't bother to come see me? What did I do, hermana?"

"It's not something you did or didn't do, hermano. It's just... I'm married to Brittany now a-and I-I knew how you would feel about that. So instead of telling you, only to be disowned by you, I decided to not get in contact with you. You're my big brother and I knew if you didn't come to my rescue when I was pregnant with Zach, there would be no way you'd be accepting of mine and Brittany's relationship."

"You think I didn't want to?" He said, in a hushed whisper._ "__Papí y mamí _basically begged me not to. I wanted you to come to Columbus with me, so I could take care of you because it was evident that Matthew wouldn't, but they-they told me that you were basically a disgrace to the family a-and that you needed to figure things out on your own."

"I needed you big brother. I needed you to protect me. I needed you to hold me. I needed my big brother but you let _papí y mamí_ convince you that I was a disgrace to the family."

Carlos took a deep breath, Santana was on the verge of tears. He got up to embrace his sister.

"Oh Monkey..." Carlos whispered calling her the nickname that he called her when she was a kid when she used to climb all over and cling to him. "I'm so, so sorry." Santana let out a choked sob. "I didn't know." He whispered. "You had the Pierce's, so I knew you were in good hands. I didn't know you needed me." He pulled her to the sitting position on the couch. After a few minutes of just sitting there, he finally asked, "Does Brittany make you happy?"

"More than anything."

"Then I'm happy for you."

"But, the whole the with Abuela when she and _papí _got into that huge argument about gay marriage..."

"Oh? You mean agreeing with Abuela that gay marriage is wrong?" Santana nodded. "That was to get off the topic. I believe you should be able to love who you love." He said with a shrug.

"Oh."

"Yeah, that was right before you got pregnant with Zach, so I never had time to clear the air." Santana nodded. "Speaking of which can I see my nephew?"

"That's up to him. You two did get into it at _mamí's __funeral. _He does play for USC now though."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"I want to make things right with him." He whispered.

"I want you two to make things right." Santana said.

A small knock was heard on her door.

"Yeah?" Santana called still in her older brother's embrace.

"Hi." Her assistant Sarah poked her head in, "Puck told me to give this to you." She held up a Red Bull.

"Just put it on the desk. Thank you."

"You bet." She said with a hesitant smile.

"Sarah, this is my older brother, Carlos. Carlos this is my assistant Sarah." Santana said, sensing that she thought something was going on between her and Carlos.

"You looked familiar." Sarah said hesitantly.

"Have we met before?"

"I'm Brittany's younger sister."

"Oh wow," He said standing up. "Sarah Bee? You grew up."

"Yeah." She said with a shrug.

He hugged her briefly before she walked back out of the office.

"So, your sister-in-law is your assistant?" Carlos said with a raised eyebrow.

"She has a photography business on the side. She took the pictures at our wedding."

"Yeah, I was looking at those pictures." He said, gesturing his head to the wall with the wedding pictures on it. "You two were glowing."

"We still are. We're expecting twins in April."

"Oh my god. Wow."

"Yeah, we both brought almost grown kids into our marriage and we wanted to have our own." She said with a shrug. Carlos nodded his head. "How's Kelly?"

Santana saw her older brother's face drop.

"She was diagnosed with cancer two years ago... cancer won."

"Oh big brother..."

"The kids and I have gone through the grieving process. We're ready to move on."

"Can I see them again?"

"Of course."

"We can do a family thing tonight at my place. I'll tell Brittany. It's Thursday, so Zach will inevitably be home for dinner."

"I mean, I don't want to intrude."

"Big brother..." She said with a look that made him realize that they wouldn't intrude.

"What time?"

"Dinner's at six."

"Sounds good."

* * *

When Riley came into the office later that afternoon, she walked into her office. Santana met her in her office.

"Hey Intern. How was school?"

"Good. I'm trying to take one step at a time like you told me to this morning at breakfast."

"That's awesome, Ri." Santana exclaimed. "I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks Tana." Riley said, sheepishly.

"So, I'm going home right now. Be home by six please."

"Okay. Thursday family dinner?"

"Yeah. And my brother and his kids are going to join us."

"Wait... you have a brother?"

"Yeah, he's older."

"Oh okay, does my mom know?"

"Yeah, hence why I'm going home right now. I don't need her stressing over a dinner that isn't that big of a deal."

"Okay." Santana started to walk out of the intern's office before she was stopped. "Oh hey, Santana?"

"Yeah kid?"

"Thank you for all you two did for me last night. It really means a lot. I'm sorry that you two didn't sleep much."

"We're always going to be here for you, kiddo." She said with a soft smile. "And don't worry about it. You feeling safe is all we wanted last night." Riley nodded. "I'll see you at home."

"See you at home."

Santana walked out of the office to go home as the teenager prepared for a short recording session with a new artist.

* * *

When Santana got home, her wife was already in the kitchen cooking.

"Hey beautiful." Santana said, coming up behind her wife, hugging her, kissing her shoulder.

"How many kids does Carlos have?" She said, kind of panicked.

"Just four." Santana said, kissing her neck softly, trying to calm her down.

"Ages?" She said, a little less panicked.

"13, 10, 7, and 4." Santana said, kissing down her neck.

"Baby, stop. You're turning me on."

"I was trying to get you relaxed. My brother isn't expecting a gourmet meal and his kids just want to be fed."

"I'm really glad your brother is back in your life."

"Yeah, we still have a ton to sort through, but he's back. For good."

"I knew how much you looked up to him and how crushed you were when he didn't answer any calls or text messages."

"Yeah." Santana hugged Brittany tighter. "I love you, beautiful."

"I love you too, baby." Brittany leans back into her wife's embrace.

"What do you need help with?"

"Can you just hold me from behind while I stir this sauce?"

"You bet, beautiful." Santana held her wife from behind as she stirred the home made pasta sauce. "How was your day?"

"It was alright." Brittany said with a shrug. "How was your day?" She mumbled.

"It was good. What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She mumbled again.

"Britt-Britt..." Santana whispered directly into her ear. "Talk to me."

"I'm really worried about Riley." She said, softly.

"She's fine though." The brunette whispered soothingly into the blonde's ear.

"Did you not see the look on her face last night both times she woke up from her nightmare, she looked so scared. And...and..."

"Shh. Don't work yourself up baby." Santana said, said bringing her hands up to rub her wife's shoulders. "It's okay." She whispered.

Brittany relaxed as her wife calmed her down.

"You're amazing, you know that?" Brittany mumbled.

"I try." The brunette said with a shrug.

* * *

Zach walked in at 6:15, football practice went over and he was exhausted and sore.

"I'm home. Where is everybody?" Zach was caught off guard without his mom and Brittany to be home and not greet him at the door. He made the turn from the entryway to the kitchen and his eyes went wide. "_Tío_? What the hell are you doing here?" His body immediately tensed.

"Calm down, mijo." Santana came from behind him and placed hands on his broad shoulders.

"What the hell is,_ Tío _doing here?"

"He came to my office today trying to make everything right." She said, softly.

"Make what right? From what I heard he left you in a time of need. You can't tell me you forgave him for that?"

"Mijo..."

"You did."

"Excuse us." Santana said to her brother, pulling her son by his polo shirt collar out of the room into the downstairs office that is Brittany's home office. "What the hell, mijo?"

"Why would you forgive him?"

"Because he's family."

"He left you!" Zach basically yelled. "That's like if Riley was in the same situation and I left her!"

"Because your Abuelo and Abuela told him to." Santana said, softly.

"So, he stooped down to Abuelo and Abuela's level? And you forgave him?"

"People change, mijo. Which by the way, your_ Tío _left his sister, you would be leaving your stepsister. There is a difference there."

"Just because I introduce Brittany and Riley as my stepmom and stepsister doesn't mean that I don't see them as another mom and a sister."

"You should tell Riley that. She thinks that you think of her like that. It'll help her recovery."

"Okay, but you're changing the subject..."

"Sorry. I want you to make things right with your_ Tío."_

"Why?"

"Because he's your_ Tío."_

"And?"

"He wants to make it right with you."

"I don't know..."

"Zachary Santiago..."

"He hurt you, Mama."

"And, I've moved passed it, so why can't you?" Santana moves to put her arms around her son's neck, looking up in her son's eyes.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "Protective."

"Oh mijo." She wraps her son up in a mama bear hug. "I love you..."

"I love you too." The football player mumbled. "That's why I'm so damn protective."

"I know." She whispers. "Trust me, I know."

The mother/son duo stood in Brittany's office just hugging and what Santana will find when they pull away, that her son had tears running down his face.

* * *

Dinner was awkward to say the least. Riley still hadn't made it home yet, saying that she was finishing up a recording session with Puck and would be home as soon as possible.

Zach was sitting by his mom, who had a motherly, comforting hand on his thigh.

"So, Carlos, how've you been?" Brittany said.

"Been good, working a lot."

The table fell silent, just when the silence began to get awkward, everyone heard the door opened and shut quietly.

Riley was home, but she wasn't in a good state.

She knew they had company over, so she immediately went up to her room.

She took the subway from downtown LA to where they live in the city. She was beginning to relapse, she just needed a fuckingrazor.

Yeah, she wanted to cut herself again, but before she could find one, she found out that Santana was following her.

The music producer had gotten a text from Puck that the recording session went bad and the artist ripped Riley a new one because of something little the the intern had said.

Santana knew that the teenager was going to relapse. She recognized the body language:

Slumped over, eyes on the ground, and heading straight for the bathroom for a razor.

The brunette placed her hands on the young blonde's shoulders before she entered the bathroom and was met by the teenager's elbows in her ribcage.

"Relax," Santana whispered. "It's just me. It's just Santana." Riley turned around and immediately started crying while burying her face into her stepmom's chest. "Oh sweetheart, it's okay. I got you. It's okay."

The brunette picked the young blonde up and walked into her room. She sat on the teenager's made bed and just rocked her back and forth.

"Shh, it's okay. It's alright. Santana's got you."

Brittany walked up to check on the stepmother/stepdaughter duo and found Santana rocking her baby girl back and forth. Brittany's eyes went wide.

"What's wrong?" The older blonde mouthed.

"I'll explain later." The brunette mouthed back. "I got it." She mouthed.

Brittany nodded and left her wife to take care of her daughter.

When the brunette finally got the teenager to calm down she asked:

"What happened kiddo?"

"I was in the booth in a recording session with Maxwell Paulson and he went flat on the bridge and I said it nicely and he just went off on me. Telling me that I'm just an amateur that only got this gig because one of the CEO's is fucking my mom which is making her happy and that you're so damn whipped that you can't say no to me." Santana's eyes went wide. "He went on to say that I'll never be good in this business and should just give up."

"Oh sweetheart... no, that's not true." Santana immediately started to run her fingers through the teenager's hair. "Puck and I wouldn't trust you alone in a booth if we didn't think you were good. You're still learning, yes, but you pick things up quickly. It's okay."

"But, what if he's right?"

"Hey," Santana broke their embrace and lifted the teenager's chin with her finger, "look at me. He's_ not _right. Okay? You're the best youngest music producer that I've ever heard, you here me?" Riley nodded. "Good. Are you hungry?"

"A little."

"Your mom has a good pasta dish made downstairs. Can you go wash up and eat for me?" Riley nodded. "Okay and when everyone leaves your mom and I will cuddle with you, alright?" Santana said with a soft smile. Riley nods as she gets off of Santana's lap. When the teenager was out of the room, Santana pulled her phone out and called Puck.

_"__Hey Tana. Did Riley make it back safe?"_

"Yeah, we need to talk about Maxwell though."

_"__What about?"_

"Did you not hear what went down?"

_"__He called her an amateur and told her she only got the internship because of you?"_

"Yeah, look, I worry about her, okay? So does Brittany and lately she only feels like she's worth something when she's in that booth. I'm not letting her go."

_"__I would hope not, she's better than anyone of our other producers."_

"We need to talk to Maxwell. He can't get away with this."

_"__I agree, Tana, but we just signed him. We can't kick him out now. I understand that the kid is going through a lot with her recovery and stuff and I'm glad she feels like she has a purpose here, but have you ever thought that she needs to take criticism better?"_

"Puck, have you ever had clinical depression?"

_"__No..."_

"So, you don't know that during the early stages of recovery you take things more personal than you normal?"

_"__I know how clinical depression works. I saw you go through it."_

"Yes, but you didn't know the thoughts that went through my head. And you don't know the thoughts that are going through Riley's. So, I'm protective of my stepdaughter and I'm going to say that right now, she's not going to take criticism better. And I need you to understand that."

_"__Alright Mama Bear, calm down. I get it."_

"I'm sorry. It's just she and I have grown closer through all of this and I hate to see her hurting."

_"__I know," Puck sighed. "What do you wanna do about Maxwell?"_

"I'll deal with him tomorrow." Santana sighed.

_"__Alright. Go back to your brother now. Okay? Don't think about this, we'll deal with it first thing tomorrow."_

"Okay, bye Puck."

_"__Bye Tana."_

She hung up the phone and walked downstairs sitting between her wife and son enjoying the conversation that they were having about some childhood memory that Carlos was sharing about Santana and Brittany. The brunette smiled over at her stepdaughter who seemed to be eating and laughing quietly at the story.

* * *

Santana and Brittany were in bed in their bedroom when the brunette told the blonde about what happened. They had just gotten Riley to fall asleep in her room.

"Seriously?" Brittany asked, instinctively cuddling closer to her wife.

"Yeah."

"Are you going to just let him get away with that? She could've relapsed."

"Baby, calm down." Santana said, softly as she leaned in and softly kissed her wife.

"He called her an amateur and said that the only reason why she got the internship was because of you." Brittany said, lowly.

"Well, that is true, but I saw the potential in her before anyone else did. Yeah, I gave her the internship because she wanted something to do for the summer and I thought it'd be good bonding for the two of us. But, if I didn't think she was good enough, I would've never left her alone in a booth with an artist or a band. She's freaking amazing, Britt. You should see her." Brittany nodded. "She feels like she has a purpose behind that board."

"How do you know that?"

"I overheard her say that to Taylor when she came for dinner one night at the studio."

"So, what are you going to do about Maxwell?"

"I'm going to talk to him and if he pulls that crap again, I'm going to exterminate his contract with us." Brittany looked confused at her wife. "Look, I have a little sense in what Riley is going through, so I am going to be overprotective. I'd do it for any other sound technician, if I knew they were suffering from the same thing. No artist has a right to take their anger, frustration, or anything else out on the producer. I'm sorry, it's even in their contract. I won't put up with it, Puck won't put up with it, and no other producer should have to put up with it."

Brittany leaned in and kissed Santana softly.

"Even if you would do it for any other person, thank you for being such a mama bear to Riley."

"Anytime."

The couple fell into a peaceful silence as Santana held Brittany close.

* * *

"Puck, get Maxwell into my office, asap." Santana said, walking through the floor of where the offices were.

"I'm on it." He said calling up to where the sound booths are.

"And I want you in here too."

"Why?"

"We're co-owners."

"Okay."

Santana walked into her office and placed the satchel that she had on her shoulder on the couch.

When Puck walked in with Maxwell, let's just say the singer wasn't happy about being brought in by one of the co-owners to the other co-owner's office.

"Good morning, Maxwell." Santana said.

"Sup."

Maxwell Paulson was 16 years old, he was one of the fresh, new talent that Riley had scoped out online for Santana and Puck. He stood at six feet, five inches, dark blonde hair, and had a huge attitude to say the least.

After taking a deep breath, Santana started the speech that had been going through her head all night while holding either Riley or Brittany.

"Maxwell, it has come to my attention that you did something against your contract yesterday with our youngest producer here. Am I wrong?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." The young artist mumbled.

"Did you not tell our intern producer that she was an amateur and that the only reason why she got this internship was because, in your words, I'm fucking her mom and am so whipped that I can't say no to her and that she'll never make it anywhere in this business?"

"Well, it's true." The young artist mumbled.

"Excuse me?" Santana said, looking straight in the eyes of the young artist.

"It's true, isn't it?"

"Whether it be true or not, that was completely uncalled for."

"I take it since you're refusing to answer my question, that it is true. You are fucking her mom, aren't you?"

"That's none of your business."

"Look, kid," Puck jumped in. "I'm with Santana here. You can't just rip someone a new one. It's in your contract of things not to do. Especially with the producer that found you."

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah, how do you feel now?" Santana asked. "You ripped a new one to the reason why you're even here." The young artist eyes went wide. "Consider this your warning, Maxwell. You rip our intern or any other producer a new one in the future, we by no means are afraid of terminating your contract. Am I clear?" She said the last three words slowly.

The youngest artist nodded.

"Now get." Puck said.

Maxwell left the office and Puck just stared at Santana.

"What?" The female music producer asked.

"You're such a mama bear."

"Yeah and?"

"It's kind of cute."

"Shut up. Don't you have work to do?"

Puck laughed.

"It's nice to see that you care about her a lot."

"She's a cool kid with a lot of potential." Santana said with a shrug.

"Yeah, she is."

"Alright, well, we have work to do. Now get." Santana said with a smirk while gesturing her head to the door.

"You got, boss."

Santana rolled her eyes because she knew he was right. She was a mama bear and she didn't regret it.

She and Riley had been getting closer and she liked that.

Yeah, so maybe she was sleeping with Brittany. Yeah, so maybe, the English teacher made her the happiest person in the world. Yeah, so maybe she was whipped, but watching someone recovering from clinical depression also be the happiest person in the world because their doing what they love, won't stop her from standing up for them.

Especially when it is her stepdaughter who is finally building that relationship that the brunette has wanted all along.

And she wouldn't change any of it for the world.

* * *

**End Note: **Hope you enjoyed that.  
Next on TCTDA: More of Riley recovery and even some Brittana pregnancy as the holidays approach them. Some Zach/Raider/Ashleigh bonding time and even Raider/Lopez-Evans family bonding time.


End file.
